Netflix Games deactivated
Summary
some Games provided by the "Netflix Games" service were pulled, and of those games that were already downloaded became unplayable too.
Background
on 2021-11-01, Netflix launched its "Netflix Games" service, the games in the service were simple arcade games at first, and it was available to everyone that had an active subscription. [1]
over time more games were added with a bigger scope and from larger publishers, and some ports of PC games to mobile became more frequent; like Into the Breach, Moonlighter, Braid: Anniversary Edition, Katana Zero, Hades, and many more.[2][3][4]
Netflix Games removing some of their games
since 2021-11-01 until 2024-12, Netflix Games has only been adding games into its catalogue, but during the month of december Netflix Games began removing some games from their library; like Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon, Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and many more. [5]
a representative for Netflix Games said:
Just like with series and film, games will be removed from Netflix as licenses expire. Players will notice a “Leaving Soon” badge and be notified by the app itself well in advance of removal. [6]
and going into 2025, the games scheduled to be removed by 2025-07-15 increased in number to include:
- Braid, Anniversary Edition
- Battleship
- Carmen Sandiego
- CoComelon: Play with JJ
- Death’s Door
- Diner Out: Merge Cafe
- Dumb Ways to Die
- Fashionverse
- Ghost Detective
- Hades (Note: Only available on iOS devices – Leaving July 1st)
- 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
Consumer response
losing access to games you previously could play caused many frustrations for people.[9][10]
as most had questions about whether they'll be able to play the games somewhere else.[11]
or if they could move their saves to another device to not lose their progress as most games don't have cloud saving.[12][13]
References