Netflix is adding 2K’s WWE games to its games roster – but is also quietly removing multiple indie and double-A games from its current offering and future release slate.
The streaming giant said today that the WWE 2K games are coming to the service this autumn, as well as stating that there will be new interactive fiction games based on Netflix shows Ginny & Georgia, Sweet Magnolias, Love is Blind and Outer Banks, under its Netflix Stories brand.
But in keeping with the ongoing strategy shift at the streaming giant, it’s also quietly removing some indie and double-A titles from its live roster and forthcoming release slate.
What’s on Netflix spotted that six games previously announced as coming in 2025 are no longer on the way. The streaming giant confirmed that Tales of the Shire, Thirsty Suitors, Compass Point: West, plus three games from indie dev Klei, Don’t Starve Together, Lab Rat and Rotwood, will no longer be coming to Netflix games.
Netflix told What’s on Netflix that the decision not to add them to the service is “part of adjusting our portfolio as we learn more about what our members like.” Netflix PR also confirmed the same information to mobilegamer.biz.
The same report notes that several other indie/double-A games have been removed from the service recently, including Ustwo’s Delta: The Memories Between, Ubisoft’s Mighty Quest Rogue Palace and Yacht Club Games’ Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon.
The shift away from indie and double-A type games makes sense in light of last week’s Netflix earnings call, in which coCEO Greg Peters said the firm is refocusing on more mainstream fare – mostly narrative, party, kids and known-IP games.
“We continue to refine our strategy,” he told investors. “And we’re going to be focusing on more narrative games based on Netflix IP. These are consistent fan favorites and we’ve got a lot in the library to work with there.”
“We’ll also be introducing party and couch co-op games on TV delivered from the cloud. We think of this as a successor to family board game night or an evolution of what the game show on TV used to be.”
Peters continued: “We’ll deliver games for kids. This is no ads, no in-app payments. It’s a safe space for kids just included with your subscription.”
“And of course, we want to do more recognizable mainstream titles, whether that is licensed titles like GTA and we’re going to have more of those big licensed titles to come that we’re looking forward to as well as homegrown titles based on our IP like Squid Game: Unleashed”.
As we reported recently, Netflix is also currently hiring for what it has described as a Stardew Valley-like life sim drived by AI, plus projects involving “dual-screen gaming”.
