{"id":2093107,"date":"2026-08-14T10:40:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:40:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2093107"},"modified":"2026-08-14T10:40:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:40:50","slug":"netflixs-gaming-secret-weapon-is-no-more-oxenfree-studio-night-school-is-to-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2093107","title":{"rendered":"Netflix&#8217;s gaming &#8220;secret weapon&#8221; is no more &#8211; Oxenfree studio Night School is to close"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Netflix&#8217;s gaming &#8220;secret weapon&#8221; is no more &#8211; Oxenfree studio Night School is to close<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;We see an opportunity to be more focused in our execution.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/night-school-studio.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"A composite image showing two hands grasping for a phone in the dark on one side of the image, an anime style girl in a sci-fi setting on the right-hand side of the image, and Netflix&apos;s logo emblazoned over both.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"night-school-studio.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer \/ Netflix<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Robert Purchese avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/user-9946-originalxoriginal-14-03-23.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1017\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Robert Purchese avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"user-9946-originalxoriginal-14-03-23.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1017\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/robert-purchese\">Robert Purchese<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Associate Editor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-08-14T10:40:50+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Aug. 14, 2026, 10:40 a.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netflix-games-oxenfree-unhinged-studio-night-school-closed?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          9 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"aafa186a-106f-4105-9b08-dac413b53448\" data-name=\"Oxenfree\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Oxenfree\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Oxenfree\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Oxenfree\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Oxenfree\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Oxenfree\" title=\"Follow Oxenfree\"><br \/>\n  Follow Oxenfree<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The hope that Netflix might produce something more than snackable sports or party games has vanished with today&#8217;s revelation that Oxenfree studio Night School is to close.<\/p>\n<p>It was only a handful of weeks ago Night School released the inventive horror game Unhinged, starring Zo\u00eb Kravitz and Sadie Sink, which cleverly paired phones and TV screens to create a short but striking experience.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netflixs-games-strategy-might-be-a-mess-but-oxenfree-studios-ingenious-new-chiller-thriller-shows-it-has-a-secret-weapon\">In an article for Eurogamer, Matt said Unhinged<\/a> offered &#8220;the kind of entertaining interactive narrative experiment I hoped we might see from Netflix when it first announced it was getting into games&#8221;. Furthermore, he wrote: &#8220;If Unhinged is any indication, Night School could, if given more opportunities, be Netflix&#8217;s secret weapon.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Unhinged - Official Trailer (ft. Zoe Kravitz, Sadie Sink, Troy Baker)\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VWcXmGiw3R4?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/VWcXmGiw3R4\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Unhinged &#8211; Official Trailer (ft. Zoe Kravitz, Sadie Sink, Troy Baker)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Night School&#8217;s most recent game, Unhinged, which was good, if brief.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VWcXmGiw3R4\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sadly, that&#8217;s no longer to be, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamefile.news\/p\/netflix-closes-night-school-moonloot?utm_source=substack&amp;publication_id=66124&amp;post_id=211074906&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;utm_campaign=email-share&amp;triggerShare=true&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=hej50&amp;triedRedirect=true\">Netflix told Game File<\/a> overnight that it was closing Night School Studio along with one other studio, Moonloot, that was reportedly working on an Animal Crossing-like game.<\/p>\n<p>Netflix said it was doing so to prioritise games you probably ignore: kids games, party games, &#8220;story-driven fare&#8221; and &#8220;games with mainstream hooks&#8221;, wrote Game File. A Netflix spokesperson said: &#8220;We see an opportunity to be more focused in our execution, so we are making organisational changes to the business to match those priorities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The company is also cutting an unknown number of jobs from its internal games team. &#8220;We are incredibly grateful to the talented colleagues we&#8217;re saying goodbye to today. We thank them for all their contributions to Netflix, and wish them the best,&#8221; the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netflix-acquires-oxenfree-developer-night-school-studio\">Netflix bought Night School Studio in 2021<\/a>, while the studio was working on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/oxenfree-2-lost-signals-one-restless-night-of-mysteries\">Oxenfree 2, which would be released unscathed a couple of years later<\/a>, and cement the studio&#8217;s walk-and-talk, gentle horror game credentials. After that, presumably at Netflix&#8217;s instruction, the studio&#8217;s output changed, with its next game being a Black Mirror companion experience called Thronglets, which was actually quite good.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Black Mirror: Thronglets | Official Launch Trailer | Netflix\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sJ7tXCvTfWE?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/sJ7tXCvTfWE\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Black Mirror: Thronglets | Official Launch Trailer | Netflix<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Night School&#8217;s 2023 game Thronglets &#8211; a companion game to a Black Mirror episode. Again, it was good.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sJ7tXCvTfWE\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-new-netflix-black-mirror-series-has-another-bandersnatch-like-gaming-crossover-moment-but-you-might-not-even-notice-it\">Thronglets realised the game idea from an episode of Black Mirror<\/a> which obsessed the characters in it and to horrifying effect &#8211; naturally, given the show&#8217;s predisposition for that kind of storyline. It blended a god-sim template with tamagotchi influences, and many fourth-wall breaking moments, to create an experience that genuinely carried the essence of Black Mirror in it. It was encouraging to see.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>These closures are the latest in a string of Netflix gaming reductions as it changes course from what looked like a big push into making games a few years ago. There were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netflix-closes-aaa-internal-studio-led-by-halo-creative-head-joseph-staten\">triple-A gaming aspirations at a studio led by a former Halo creative director<\/a> that were axed in 2024, and then Squid Game game-maker Boss Fight was closed in October 2025, and cosy online-game maker Spry Fox was sold back to its founders a couple of months later.<\/p>\n<p>Netflix also partnered with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/monument-valley\">Monument Valley<\/a> maker Ustwo games <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/monument-valley-3-review\">to exclusively release Monument Valley 3<\/a>, which struggled to find an audience and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/monument-valley-hades-and-more-leaving-netflix\">was later removed from Netflix<\/a>, alongside many other more traditional games. <a href=\"https:\/\/mobilegamer.biz\/ustwo-games-is-weaning-itself-off-apple-arcade-and-netflix-amid-strategy-shifts\/\">Ustwo is now pushing back into being a PC-first developer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Games continue to be an opportunity for us to expand the variety of entertainment we offer Netflix members,&#8221; the Netflix spokesperson told Game File, but with operations reduced to party game-maker Next Games, and with an altered outlook, it seems unlikely those games will appeal in the way a studio like Night School&#8217;s games did.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The hope that Netflix might produce something more than snackable sports or party games has vanished with today&#8217;s revelation that Oxenfree studio Night School is to close.<\/p>\n<p>It was only a handful of weeks ago Night School released the inventive horror game Unhinged, starring Zo\u00eb Kravitz and Sadie Sink, which cleverly paired phones and TV screens to create a short but striking experience.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netflixs-games-strategy-might-be-a-mess-but-oxenfree-studios-ingenious-new-chiller-thriller-shows-it-has-a-secret-weapon\">In an article for Eurogamer, Matt said Unhinged<\/a> offered &#8220;the kind of entertaining interactive narrative experiment I hoped we might see from Netflix when it first announced it was getting into games&#8221;. Furthermore, he wrote: &#8220;If Unhinged is any indication, Night School could, if given more opportunities, be Netflix&#8217;s secret weapon.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Unhinged - Official Trailer (ft. Zoe Kravitz, Sadie Sink, Troy Baker)\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VWcXmGiw3R4?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/VWcXmGiw3R4\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Unhinged &#8211; Official Trailer (ft. Zoe Kravitz, Sadie Sink, Troy Baker)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Night School&#8217;s most recent game, Unhinged, which was good, if brief.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VWcXmGiw3R4\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sadly, that&#8217;s no longer to be, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamefile.news\/p\/netflix-closes-night-school-moonloot?utm_source=substack&amp;publication_id=66124&amp;post_id=211074906&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=share&amp;utm_campaign=email-share&amp;triggerShare=true&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=hej50&amp;triedRedirect=true\">Netflix told Game File<\/a> overnight that it was closing Night School Studio along with one other studio, Moonloot, that was reportedly working on an Animal Crossing-like game.<\/p>\n<p>Netflix said it was doing so to prioritise games you probably ignore: kids games, party games, &#8220;story-driven fare&#8221; and &#8220;games with mainstream hooks&#8221;, wrote Game File. A Netflix spokesperson said: &#8220;We see an opportunity to be more focused in our execution, so we are making organisational changes to the business to match those priorities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The company is also cutting an unknown number of jobs from its internal games team. &#8220;We are incredibly grateful to the talented colleagues we&#8217;re saying goodbye to today. We thank them for all their contributions to Netflix, and wish them the best,&#8221; the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netflix-acquires-oxenfree-developer-night-school-studio\">Netflix bought Night School Studio in 2021<\/a>, while the studio was working on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/oxenfree-2-lost-signals-one-restless-night-of-mysteries\">Oxenfree 2, which would be released unscathed a couple of years later<\/a>, and cement the studio&#8217;s walk-and-talk, gentle horror game credentials. After that, presumably at Netflix&#8217;s instruction, the studio&#8217;s output changed, with its next game being a Black Mirror companion experience called Thronglets, which was actually quite good.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Black Mirror: Thronglets | Official Launch Trailer | Netflix\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sJ7tXCvTfWE?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/sJ7tXCvTfWE\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Black Mirror: Thronglets | Official Launch Trailer | Netflix<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Night School&#8217;s 2023 game Thronglets &#8211; a companion game to a Black Mirror episode. Again, it was good.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sJ7tXCvTfWE\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-new-netflix-black-mirror-series-has-another-bandersnatch-like-gaming-crossover-moment-but-you-might-not-even-notice-it\">Thronglets realised the game idea from an episode of Black Mirror<\/a> which obsessed the characters in it and to horrifying effect &#8211; naturally, given the show&#8217;s predisposition for that kind of storyline. It blended a god-sim template with tamagotchi influences, and many fourth-wall breaking moments, to create an experience that genuinely carried the essence of Black Mirror in it. It was encouraging to see.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>These closures are the latest in a string of Netflix gaming reductions as it changes course from what looked like a big push into making games a few years ago. There were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netflix-closes-aaa-internal-studio-led-by-halo-creative-head-joseph-staten\">triple-A gaming aspirations at a studio led by a former Halo creative director<\/a> that were axed in 2024, and then Squid Game game-maker Boss Fight was closed in October 2025, and cosy online-game maker Spry Fox was sold back to its founders a couple of months later.<\/p>\n<p>Netflix also partnered with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/monument-valley\">Monument Valley<\/a> maker Ustwo games <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/monument-valley-3-review\">to exclusively release Monument Valley 3<\/a>, which struggled to find an audience and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/monument-valley-hades-and-more-leaving-netflix\">was later removed from Netflix<\/a>, alongside many other more traditional games. <a href=\"https:\/\/mobilegamer.biz\/ustwo-games-is-weaning-itself-off-apple-arcade-and-netflix-amid-strategy-shifts\/\">Ustwo is now pushing back into being a PC-first developer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Games continue to be an opportunity for us to expand the variety of entertainment we offer Netflix members,&#8221; the Netflix spokesperson told Game File, but with operations reduced to party game-maker Next Games, and with an altered outlook, it seems unlikely those games will appeal in the way a studio like Night School&#8217;s games did.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"poll_wrapper\" data-fixed=\"true\" data-hashid data-init=\"false\" data-poll-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Netflix&#8217;s gaming &#8220;secret weapon&#8221; is no more &#8211; Oxenfree studio Night School is to close &#8220;We see an opportunity to be more focused in our execution.&#8221; Image credit: Eurogamer \/ Netflix News by Robert Purchese Associate Editor Published on Aug. 14, 2026, 10:40 a.m. 9 comments Follow Oxenfree The hope that Netflix might [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2093107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2093107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2093107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2093107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2093107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2093107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2093107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}