Night School’s Netflix Run Is Ending Six Weeks After Unhinged

Netflix is shutting down Night School Studio, the California developer behind Oxenfree, while also planning to close Finnish studio Moonloot. The move comes only six weeks after Night School released its latest game, Unhinged, through Netflix’s cloud streaming service.

Game File reported that Night School is being closed after Netflix acquired the studio in 2021. That deal made it the first game studio purchased by Netflix. In the studio’s 2021 acquisition announcement, co-founder Sean Krankel said Netflix’s resources would give the team room to pursue “newer, better, and bigger narrative-driven games” in the spirit of Oxenfree.

Night School released the critically acclaimed Oxenfree in 2016 and had already built a name with the narrative adventure Afterparty. After joining Netflix, it launched Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals and the Black Mirror spin-off mobile game Thronglets.

Unhinged arrived only six weeks before the closure

Night School’s newest release, Unhinged, arrived on June 30, 2026, only six weeks before the closure. It was a 30-minute interactive horror game designed specifically for Netflix’s cloud streaming service. Players used a phone as the controller, while the protagonist also used that same device as their in-game phone. The game featured Sadie Sink, Zoe Kravitz, and Troy Baker in its cast.

Netflix is also planning to shut down Moonloot, a Finnish studio founded in 2022. The team was reportedly working on a life simulation game inspired by Animal Crossing.

Netflix is narrowing its game priorities

During Netflix’s second-quarter earnings report, co-CEO Gregory Peters said FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition and Unhinged were the company’s two most successful cloud-game debuts.

Netflix identified four areas of focus for its games lineup: Kids through Netflix Playground, Party through Netflix Minigolf, Narrative through Unhinged, and Mainstream through FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition. A Netflix spokesperson told Game File that the company was focusing more on party games, story-driven titles, games aimed at children, and projects with broader appeal.

“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 spokesperson said.

Last month, Sean Krankel, Netflix Games’ narrative boss, said he wanted the service to become a destination for story-focused games. He also discussed the possibility of adapting Unhinged into a film or television series.

Netflix also said games remained a way to expand the variety of entertainment available to its members, but had not confirmed any other projects in its pipeline at the time of the announcement.

Netflix also confirmed layoffs within its internal games team beyond the two studio closures, though it did not disclose how many jobs would be affected or identify the specific teams involved. The company’s statement thanked the employees leaving the business and wished them well.

Another setback for Netflix’s games operation

The Night School closure follows several major changes to Netflix’s gaming plans. In 2025, Avowed director Carrie Patel left Obsidian after 12 years and joined Netflix in a directorial role at Night School.

Netflix shut down its triple-A Team Blue studio in October 2024 after recruiting veteran developers including former Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny, Halo veteran Joseph Staten, and former Sony Santa Monica art director Raf Grassetti. All three reportedly left Netflix after Team Blue closed.

The company also began removing its interactive specials the following month. Twenty of the 24 specials were gone by December 1, while the remaining titles, including an episode of Black Mirror, were removed in 2025.

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