The many offers of Netflix Games are set to be limited again as the company is planning to remove a total of 21 indie games starting this July. The company recently confirmed this massive change in its gaming library that is integrated into its streaming platform, with the streaming giant set to focus its efforts on developing mainstream and first-party games from Netflix titles.
Netflix Games to Remove 21 Indie Games This July
Engadget first reported that Netflix Games has decided to remove a total of 21 games from its library, and most of these titles are known for being independently developed games. It was later confirmed by Netflix (via 9to5Mac) that they are indeed purging their libraries of the 21 indie games that it previously made available to subscribers.
The company's purge will take place on July 14, according to the announcement. Here are the games being removed from the library:
- "Battleship"
- "Braid, Anniversary Edition"
- "Carmen Sandiego" (date of exit unknown)
- "CoComelon: Play with JJ"
- "Death's Door"
- "Diner Out: Merge Cafe"
- "Dumb Ways to Survive"
- "Ghost Detective"
- "Hades" (exiting on July 1)
- "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"
Netflix Games will reportedly start with the removal of "Hades," a renowned indie game that gained acclaimed popularity when it was released in 2020 by Supergiant Games. This specific game will be removed from the platform on July 1 despite being one of the most famous titles in the list, earning a 10 out of 10 (Overwhelmingly Positive) rating on Steam's platform and a 93 Metascore (Universal Acclaim) on Metacritic's website.
On the other hand, "Carmen Sandiego" still has no confirmed removal date from Netflix, as per the reports.
Netflix to Focus on Mainstream, Netflix Titles
Instead of focusing on featuring indie games and other titles, Netflix is reportedly focusing on developing its titles based on mainstream Netflix shows. According to the reports, Netflix Games would instead deliver "party-style multiplayer" games that are easily discernible from its popular titles.
This came from the recent shutdown of the Blue game development studio last year, which the company designated to create AAA-rated titles. As per the reports, Netflix Games is yet again looking to restructure and focus its game development side on new ventures after the massive shift in previous years.
Netflix Games also acquired different game studios in previous years to bolster its first-party titles to be part of the library.
