Latest news with #DevolverDigital
Time of India
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Netflix to remove multiple games from its mobile service: Why this may be concerning for fans of these titles
Netflix is set to remove 22 games, including the popular title Hades, from its mobile service next month. This move will mean that several games which are exclusively available on mobile via Netflix, such as Hades, Braid, and Katana Zero , may potentially disappear from Android and iOS platforms. The streaming giant has confirmed the list of titles that are set to leave next month via the Netflix app. Most of the affected games are set to depart the service by July 15, while Hades will be removed earlier, on July 1. Meanwhile, the game named Carmen Sandiego is also "leaving soon," but without a confirmed date. With these games leaving Netflix , their fans won't be able to access the titles as they are available exclusively on the streaming platform. List of games that are leaving Netflix Here's the full list of the games that Netflix is set to remove from its mobile service Battleship Braid, Anniversary Edition Carmen Sandiego CoComelon: Play with JJ Death's Door Diner Out: Merge Cafe Dumb Ways to Survive Ghost Detective Hades 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 What the developers of these games said about Netflix removing them In an emailed statement to The Verge, Nigel Lowrie, a spokesperson for Devolver Digital , wrote, 'We are looking at bringing games that leave services like Poinpy, Katana Zero, and Death's Door to mobile stores as premium titles.' He added that each game's developer has its schedule for the mobile release, but Devolver is aiming to bring them to mobile storefronts 'as soon as possible.' It's important to note that Devolver Digital is no stranger to mobile ports—Exit the Gungeon, which was previously available exclusively through Apple Arcade, is set to launch as a paid title on iOS and Android after being removed from Apple's subscription service last year. 'This is all recent news for us and all the practical implications have yet to be worked out,' Andrejs Klavins, the lead designer and programmer of the studio behind the Golden Idol series, wrote on the Discord server for Color Gray Games. This move comes after Netflix paused its studio acquisitions and shut down a new AAA game studio before it could release anything. Moving forward, Netflix is expected to prioritise games tied to its shows, multiplayer party games, titles for kids, and games with established fan bases.
Gizmodo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Now Nobody Will Remember When Netflix Had Great, Free Games
For several years, Netflix offered subscribers the ability to play some truly great games on their phones. No matter what tier they paid for, subscribers could play games like Hades and the original three 3D Grand Theft Auto titles from the PS2 era. Netflix did such a poor job of letting subscribers know it was available, and now the good times are coming to an end. Some of the best games promoted by the streaming service will exit stage left in less than a week's time. Netflix is planning to drop all three Monument Valley games alongside indie darlings like Braid: Anniversary Edition, Hades, and Katana ZERO. Other odd, time-sucking mobile games like Rainbow Six: SMOL are ending as well. Some games, like Hades, will no longer be playable on July 1, though other games will take longer to meet their demise. Some players had very little time to spend with these titles. Monument Valley 3 has only been playable on Netflix since 2024. Engadget first reported on the full list of games leaving the platform, though we don't have exact dates for when every game will call it quits. We reached out to Netflix to confirm how many games are leaving and when, and we'll update this post when we hear back. The full list includes: Some of these games, like Poinpy, Katana Zero, and Death's Door, may make it to mobile as premium titles, or at least that's according to publisher Devolver Digital in a statement to The Verge. Either way, it's a sign Netflix's gaming arm is further heading in the wrong direction, especially since so few customers even know the streamer has a division focused on games. The gaming titles show up front and center on the Netflix phone app, though despite its broad selection of games available free to subscribers, customers either didn't know or didn't care for the streamer's gaming offerings. Part of the issue was marketing. Netflix initially struggled to show players where to get these games. Users had to search in the Google Play Store or iPhone App Store to procure these titles. Then, even as Netflix threw money at studios like Night School, the developers of Oxenfree, and ported games like Street Fighter IV and Civilization VI to mobile, it still struggled to let users know the platform had any games available. The streamer's gaming arm took a major shift earlier this year. It reportedly closed down a 'AAA' studio helmed by industry veterans and laid off the staff at Night School just two years after acquiring it. Netflix brought on former Epic Games VP of game development, Alain Tascan, who told The Verge the platform needed to 'find its voice.' That meant focusing on tie-in games based on Netflix reality shows, party games, and games for kids. In April, Netflix promoted Thronglets, a game based on the show Black Mirror. There's no word if this change in plans will affect development of cozy life sim Spirit Crossing, an original title by Spry Fox—a developer Netflix acquired back in 2022. I have not played Thronglets or other tie-in games like Squid Game: Unleashed, but that's because the games don't interest me in the slightest. There may be a market for interactive fiction based on Netflix's reality shows, but without any unique titles that hit at the gamer crowd, will Netflix be able to truly market itself as a gaming platform? Netflix started its game journey with a heap of money but without a solid plan to use it. Tascan has said he wants to make some of these games playable directly from the Netflix app, rather than needing to download and play them separately. The only version of Hades available on mobile could not fit that bill, unfortunately. What made Netflix's gaming so nice was that it greatly limited the overt nickel-and-diming that plagues most mobile titles in favor of easy, streamlined experiences. The streamer failed to let subscribers know these titles were available. Now, those same customers will never know they missed out.
The Verge
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Netflix is letting go of some of its best indie games
If you've been enjoying Hades on mobile via Netflix, you better get in those last few runs while you still can. First spotted by Engadget, and confirmed via the Netflix app, Supergiant's Greek mythology inspired roguelike and 21 other games are being delisted from the service next month. Several titles like Braid, Katana Zero, and yes, Hades, were available exclusively on mobile via Netflix, meaning that when those games go, that's potentially it for them on Android / iOS. Here's a full list of the games leaving Netflix next month. Most games depart the service July 14th, but Hades goes a little earlier on July 1st. (Carmen Sandiego, however, doesn't have a confirmed date for delisting, only that it's 'leaving soon.')The Verge has reached out to the developers of the games that had their mobile versions available exclusively via Netflix to ask if they had plans to distribute them as premium titles. In an email, Nigel Lowrie, a spokesperson for Devolver Digital, wrote, 'We are looking at bringing games that leave services like Poinpy, Katana Zero, and Death's Door to mobile stores as premium titles.' He also said that the developer for each of these games has its own timeline for when that will happen but Devolver is working to get them up on mobile storefronts 'as soon as possible.' Devolver Digital has some experience with this as Exit the Gungeon, which had a mobile version available exclusively via Apple Arcade, will become a paid game on iOS and Android after it was delisted from Apple's gaming subscription service last year. In the Discord server for Color Gray Games, the developers of the Golden Idol series, Andrejs Klavins, the games' lead designer and programmer, wrote, 'This is all recent news for us and all the practical implications have yet to be worked out.' The statement suggests that some developers were only recently told their games would be leaving the platform and not something that was necessarily pre-planned. This removal of third-party games, many of which had decent, mainstream success outside of Netflix, reflects the platform's shifting games strategy. It has halted its acquisition spree and, in October of last year, Netflix closed the new studio it spun up to produce a multiplatform AAA game before it could release anything. In an interview with The Verge at the Game Developers Conference in March, Netflix's new president of games Alain Tascan said, 'we need to find our voice.' Netflix plans on streamlining its offerings to focus more on games that are tied to Netflix-owned shows, multiplayer party games, games for kids, and 'mainstream' titles that have their own large fanbases. And when you look at the numbers, that strategy makes sense. According to data from Appfigures, a mobile analytics company, the most popular game on Netflix is – coming at no surprise – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with an estimated 37 million downloads. The next most popular, though it has less than half the downloads of San Andreas, is Squid Game: Unleashed, a tie-in game for the Netflix-produced Korean social thriller Squid Game. Those two games aren't going anywhere for now. But if you're a fan of any of the games above, they will be leaving soon so try them while you can.
The Verge
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
is coming to iOS and Android 'soon,'
Jay Peters Enter the mobile Gungeon. The hit roguelike Enter the Gungeon Devolver Digital announced today. Exit the Gungeon, which was delisted from Apple Arcade last year, will also be back on iOS and is coming to Google Play. Playing the games on mobile will be a good warmup to next year's Enter the Gungeon 2.
The Verge
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
The best games we saw during the Day of the Devs showcase
Now that Summer Game Fest 2025 is off and running, it's time for my favorite part of the show: Day of the Devs. Day of the Devs is a yearly showcase highlighting the newest, quirkiest indie releases, and it is frequently the source of some of my favorite games SGF has on offer. This year is another banger slate of titles from your favorite indie publishers, like Devolver Digital, Annapurna Interactive, Panic, and more. I'll have more to share about these games once the show is over, but for now, here are my faves from the Day of the Devs Summer Game Fest showcase 2025. Snap and Grab is a slick-looking action puzzle game that mixes Ocean's Eleven with Miami Vice. Set in the hyper neon aesthetic of the '80s, Snap and Grab lets you live out your master thief fantasies. Case the joint with your camera, taking pictures of the merchandise you wanna steal while also snapping pics of the people, places, and things that'll help your team get the goods and get out. Coming next year to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles. Big Walk It's time to take a gander at the next game from Untitled Goose Game developer House House. In Big Walk, House House combines the peacefulness of a walking simulator with the wacky hijinks of multiplayer party games. You and your friends will take a… well, big walk through the countryside finding and solving puzzles using the game's unique proximity voice and text chat feature. Sword of the Sea Sword of the Sea is from the makers of Abzu and The Pathless. It's a skateboarding exploration narrative game in which you cruise around a desert world doing flips off dunes and sandy half-pipes. Sword of the Sea features music by Austin Wintory and very much reminds me of Sable and Journey, but with a Tony Hawk twist. Escape Academy 2 I loved the first Escape Academy and I'm incredibly geeked that the team at Coin Crew Games is back with a sequel. In Escape Academy 2, the developers gave the people what we wanted: a bigger school with even more puzzles to solve. And now, instead of selecting levels, you can find the puzzles yourself in an open-world explorable academy filled with secrets and clues. Unfollow me now, this is gonna be the only thing I talk about for the next week. Dosa Divas Dosa Divas from Thirsty Suitors developer Outerloop Games is a spicy RPG that'll make you hungry. In the game, you collect recipes and use them in cooking minigames to make food for people who have been overcome by a violent case of the itis. Dosa Diva 's turn-based combat features dodges and parries, which makes the game well situated to take advantage of the turn-based RPG hype generated by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Consume Me Never before has a game attacked me so violently, but in a way that still makes me really want to play it. Consume Me is a coming-of-age story that pays homage to the unique hell of being a teenage girl. Stress about your grades (rude), crushes (also rude), and weight (RUDE AS FUCK!) via a collection of WarioWare -esque minigames. This game looks like it'll cause me a unique amount of stress. I can't wait. Possessor(s) Heart Machine, maker of Hyper Light Drifter and this year's Hyper Light Breaker, is back with its next game, Possessor(s). In the game, you play as Luca, who has been forced into cooperation with the demon Rhem. Luca uses Rhem's powers to fight demons that have invaded their city. Together the two must solve the mystery of their world while exploring their ruined city in a search action adventure game (what the kids are calling Metroidvanias these days). Relooted Another side-scrolling action game steeped in afrofuturistic fantasy? Don't mind if I do! Relooted is a new game from South African-based developer Nyamakop. It combines endless-runner action with an Indiana Jones -type story. In the game, you and your friends team up to steal your culture's artifacts back from the museums that stole them in the first place. As you run through each location, your friends are standing by, ready to use their powers to clear any obstacles to ensure you've got a smooth path.
