Have you been working your way through Hades on mobile via Netflix? You’d better hurry up, before it’s too late. As first spotted by Engadget and confirmed by Netflix, 21 high-profile indie games are being removed from the service starting next month. See the full list below.
Netflix seems to be rethinking its game strategy once again. After a streak of splashy acquisitions, the company shut down Blue, its internal AAA studio last year, releasing zero games in total.
Now, its focus appears to be shifting to games tied to Netflix shows, party-style multiplayer games, and recognizable mainstream titles.
Which is why, starting July 14th, the following games will be pulled, except for Hades, which will be leaving on July 1st, and Carmen Sandiego, which doesn’t yet have a confirmed removal date:
- Battleship
- Braid, Anniversary Edition
- Carmen Sandiego
- CoComelon: Play with JJ
- Death’s Door
- Diner Out: Merge Cafe
- Dumb Ways to Survive
- Ghost Detective
- Hades
- Katana ZERO
- LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed
- Ludo King
- Monument Valley
- Monument Valley 2
- Monument Valley 3
- Rainbow Six: Smol
- Raji: An Ancient Epic
- SpongeBob: Bubble Pop F.U.N.
- TED Tumblewords
- The Case of the Golden Idol
- The Rise of the Golden Idol
- Vineyard Valley
Many of these titles were only available on mobile via Netflix, which means that unless the publishers plan to re-release them as standalone paid apps, this could be it for their availability on Android and iOS.
That said, at least some developers are working on it. Devolver Digital confirmed to The Verge that it’s working with game developers to bring a few titles back “as soon as possible.”, stating that:
“We are looking at bringing games that leave services like Poinpy, Katana Zero, and Death’s Door to mobile stores as premium titles.”
Others, like Color Gray Games (behind the Golden Idol series), seem to have been caught off guard by the removals. In a Discord post, the lead designer wrote that the news was “recent” and that they’re still figuring out next steps.
Do you play games on Netflix? What do you think of its push into gaming? Let us know in the comments.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
