Netflix just shuttered Boss Fight Entertainment, the studio behind its hit mobile game Squid Game: Unleashed, despite the title's massive success across 107 countries. The closure comes just three years after Netflix acquired the studio for an undisclosed sum, marking another retreat from the streaming giant's ambitious gaming expansion. Industry insiders are calling it a telling sign of Netflix's evolving interactive strategy as the company pivots toward TV-based party games.
Netflix just delivered another shock to the gaming industry, quietly shuttering Boss Fight Entertainment despite the studio's mobile hit Squid Game: Unleashed dominating app store charts worldwide. The news broke through LinkedIn posts from devastated staffers, not a corporate press release, underscoring how quickly the streaming giant's gaming ambitions have shifted.
The timing couldn't be more ironic. Just days ago, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters was touting Squid Game: Unleashed during the company's Q3 earnings call as exactly the kind of narrative-driven franchise game the company wants to create more of. The mobile title had reached #1 Free Action Game status in 107 countries upon release, becoming a rare Netflix gaming success story.
"Hi everyone - well, word has gotten around quickly about Boss Fight's closure," co-founder and former CEO David Rippy said on LinkedIn. "Thanks, everyone who reached out today. Rough news, for sure, but I'm very grateful for the time we had at Netflix."
Netflix acquired Boss Fight Entertainment in March 2022 with grand promises. A Netflix executive said at the time that the studio's "extensive experience building hit games across genres will help accelerate our ability to provide Netflix members with great games wherever they want to play them." The acquisition was part of Netflix's broader push to transform from a streaming service into an entertainment ecosystem.
But three years later, that vision has dramatically narrowed. The Boss Fight closure follows Netflix's shutdown of its expensive AAA gaming studio last year before it ever released a single game. The pattern suggests Netflix is retreating from high-investment, long-development gaming projects in favor of quicker, cheaper alternatives.
