Netflix gaming continues to crash and burn with 20 games on the chopping block

Summary

Over 20 mobile games, including popular titles like Hades and Rainbow Six: SMOL, are leaving Netflix in July.
Most games are leaving on July 14, with Hades departing on July 1.
Netflix’s gaming struggles are evident with the closure of its AAA gaming studio last year and the removal of mobile games from its service.

Netflix has been trying desperately to carve out a space for itself in the gaming world, but has so far fallen short. Late last year, the streaming giant closed its AAA gaming studio, and now over 20 mobile games from its library are set to leave the service soon.

All the games listed below will be removed from Netflix in July, starting with Hades on July 1. If you want to play any of them before they leave, you’ll need to act quickly. Here’s the list of games exiting Netflix soon (via Engadget):

Hades
Battleship
Braid, Anniversary Edition
CoComelon: Play with JJ
Death’s Door
Diner Out: Merge Café
Dumb Ways to Die
Ghost Detective
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

A majority of the games listed above will be leaving Netflix on July 14, except for Hades, which is scheduled to leave on July 1. Hades is only available on iOS devices. You can find mobile games on Netflix by searching for them on the Netflix app or on the App Store and Google Play Store. If a mobile game is affiliated with Netflix, it will have – NETFLIX in the name of it.

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Netflix is a global streaming service offering on-demand access to movies, TV shows, documentaries, and original content. Founded in 1997 as a DVD rental service, it transitioned to streaming in 2007 and now operates in over 190 countries.

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Netflix’s games division is struggling

It feels like more titles are leaving than arriving

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If you didn’t know that Netflix had mobile games, don’t worry; you’re not alone. Netflix first added mobile games to its app for iOS and Android in November 2021, but they never gained much traction. To play mobile games on Netflix, all you need is an active Netflix subscription — your tier doesn’t matter, whether it’s the Standard with Ads, Standard, or Premium. When you go to download a game on the Netflix app, you’re redirected to download it from either the App Store or Google Play Store.

One of the biggest games available on the platform is Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which includes three highly popular GTA games from the PlayStation 2 era: Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas. Additionally, another popular title on Netflix is the strategy game Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. The version Netflix offers is the Platinum Edition, which includes all the DLC (valued at $160).

Besides a few major titles, Netflix doesn’t have many mobile games, and removing 20 titles is a significant move that clearly highlights Netflix’s gaming plans are facing difficulties.

..it never made much sense to me why Netflix tried to break into gaming. It was already a major player in streaming, a space that’s becoming increasingly competitive, so trying to expand into gaming suddenly seemed like an odd move…

Netflix’s gaming struggles were highlighted last year when the streaming giant shut down its Southern California Game Studio, Team Blue. The studio was led by former Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny and included many games industry veterans from popular franchises like Halo and God of War. Before closing, Team Blue was reportedly working on a multiplatform AAA game. However, handling just one AAA game seems to have been too much for Netflix. Not long after, Netflix released Ted Tumblewords in collaboration with TED, but that game is already scheduled to leave the service on July 14.

Personally, it never made much sense to me why Netflix tried to break into gaming. It was already a major player in streaming, a space that’s becoming increasingly competitive, so trying to expand into gaming suddenly seemed like an odd move — especially when the cost and complexity of developing games are growing. Additionally, while it’s a neat subscriber perk to have access to free mobile games, I feel it’s one that not many people take advantage of or even know about.

Several new games, such as Black Mirror: Thronglets and the World of Peppa Pig, have come to Netflix recently, but it’s hard not to feel like more games are leaving than arriving.

I do think it makes more sense for Netflix to focus on licensing mobile games rather than trying to develop its own AAA titles, since mobile games are easily playable on many devices its users already own. However, it seems they’re even struggling to keep those games around now. Several new titles, such as Black Mirror: Thronglets and the World of Peppa Pig, have recently arrived on Netflix, but it’s hard not to feel like more games are leaving than coming in. Netflix’s gaming future appears more uncertain than ever, and it will be interesting to see how the streaming giant’s gaming ambitions develop soon — if at all.