Netflix closes Night School Studio, the developer behind Unhinged, six weeks after the horror game launched — and weeks after co-CEO Greg Peters told investors its numbers were “really solid”.
Unhinged, released on 30 June, is a roughly 30-minute first-person horror game made in secret collaboration with David Fincher and Zach Cregger, director of Weapons. Players guide Ava (voiced by Zoë Kravitz) through an apartment building during a hurricane blackout, using their phone as controller, flashlight and lifeline to Claire (Sadie Sink) and building super Ben (Troy Baker).
It streams to TVs through a Netflix subscription, and the phone doubles as the character’s phone: calls and texts arrive on the real device. Gameplay runs about half an hour, closer to an episode of television than a traditional game.
Netflix closes Night School Studio and Moonloot
Night School, Netflix’s first games studio, bought in 2021, is closing along with Moonloot, a Helsinki studio founded in 2022. The internal games team is also losing jobs; Netflix declined to say how many.
“We are incredibly grateful to the talented colleagues we’re saying goodbye to today. We thank them for all their contributions to Netflix, and wish them the best.”
Netflix spokesperson
“We see an opportunity to be more focused in our execution, so we are making organizational changes to the business to match those priorities,” the company said. It framed games as part of the plan: “Games continue to be an opportunity for us to expand the variety of entertainment we offer Netflix members.”
What’s left of Netflix’s games business
The closures continue a two-year retreat from owning studios. Netflix shut Team Blue in 2024, closed Boss Fight last October after releasing its Squid Game mobile title, and sold Spry Fox back to its founders in December.
What remains is Helsinki’s Next Games, which makes the service’s party titles, and a central team that commissions external developers — the same production model Netflix uses for its films and shows. Under games president Alain Tascan, the strategy now centres on four areas: kids, party, narrative and mainstream titles, with Unhinged the flagship narrative release.
Game File first reported the closures; Variety confirmed them. Other studios are trimming too — Supermassive Games announced a third round of layoffs in three years this month.
What happens to Unhinged
Unhinged remains playable for Netflix subscribers. With Night School gone, any follow-up now depends on Netflix’s central games team, which works with outside developers.
What was Night School Studio known for?
The Los Angeles studio made Oxenfree (2016), a supernatural thriller that won multiple awards, and followed it with Afterparty (2019) and Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (2023). After Netflix bought it in 2021, it also developed a mobile game tied to the Black Mirror series and, most recently, Unhinged.
Why did Netflix close Night School Studio?
Netflix says it wants to focus its games effort on four priorities — kids games, party games, narrative titles and games with mainstream appeal — and described the closures as organisational changes to match those priorities. The move also continues a shift away from owning studios, toward commissioning games from external developers, the same model Netflix uses for its TV shows and films.
Is Unhinged still available on Netflix?
Yes. Unhinged remains playable for Netflix subscribers, and Netflix has not announced any removal or sequel. Nothing in the announcement suggests the game is being taken off the service.
