Netflix is allegedly selling one of its in-house game development studios, Spry Fox, back to its founders. The streaming company has been restructuring its approach to gaming, and now Spry Fox will no longer develop games exclusive to the platform. Instead, it will become independent under the control of David Edery and Daniel Cook, as it was before Netflix acquired it in 2022.
Spry Fox developed the Cozy Grove games, with the latest title, Camp Spirit, launching exclusively on Netflix earlier this year. It is also presently working on an MMO called Spirit Crossing, which it describes as “cozy, cooperative life-sim focused on friendship and community.” Netflix will still reportedly publish this game on mobile, but Spry Fox can also launch the game on other platforms.
The report, which originally came from Stephen Totilo of Game File, includes a quote from Edery, saying, “We’re so grateful for our time at Netflix and our continued partnership publishing Spirit Crossing next year. Spirit Crossing was built to connect the world, bring people together and inspire kindness, so being able to bring the game to as many players, across different platforms, is truly the best thing for the game.”
As an indicator of its refreshed approach to games, Netflix recently launched the Puzzled app, separate from its streaming platform. As my colleague, Alexander Lee, reported, Netflix plans to expand its userbase to include non-subscribers via this new app, while also opening avenues to third-party developers to work with Netflix.