Netflix, which has already started the second in video games, proves it again with a major recruitment for its first AAA. A title developed by industry veterans and not just anyone.
Netflix suffered a considerable failure with its vertical video game, but does not give up. Behind the scenes, the SVOD giant is arming itself to make a name for itself in the industry. Between the creation of studios and recruitment, the firm gives itself more means to succeed. The company is forming a dream team for its first original game, and the latest addition has worked on a cult PlayStation franchise.
Netflix recruits a great talent from the studio of God of War
For its first steps in video games, Netflix did not convince many people. In August 2022, less than 1% of subscribers, who were then 221 million, had discovered the giant’s offer at N rouge. A considerable flop. For now, this vertical provides free – without advertising, in-app purchases or hidden costs – mobile games on smartphones and tablets. Sometimes these are titles cut for platforms of this type such as Stranger Things 3: The Game Or Stranger Things: 1984, but not only. In recent weeks, for example, Netflix has added Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder’s Revenge and 12 Minutes. Two successful indie games.
A very complicated first experience for Netflix. But the company intends to seduce console and PC players with a very ambitious AAA game. A project carried by Chacko Sonny (ex-executive producer ofOverwatch) and Joseph Staten (screenwriter and director of cinematics on the franchise Halo). Artist Raf Grassetti, who spent over a decade at SIE Santa Monica Studio and the franchise god of warjoined the team.
“I am pleased to announce that I have joined Netflix to develop a new AAA game based on a new franchise. I’m so excited to be able to build a team and work alongside Jason Staten, Jerry Edsall and Chacko Sonny to bring a whole new world to life. I am grateful for the love and support you have given me over the past few weeks. Making games is what I love and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon” he said on Twitter.
An action-RPG in development
As clarified by Raf Grassetti, this AAA Netflix game will also be designed by Jerry Edsall. An engineer who has notably brought his expertise to Gears of War 4 and Gears 5. It will be an entirely new and cross-platform license (consoles, PC). The universe of the title will offer “great secrets and endless adventures”. A service game? We might think so, but at this stage, we can not say anything.
However, we have other more specific information. It will indeed be a third-person action-RPG. In order to bring this new world to life, to paraphrase Grassetti, the young Netflix studio has set its sights on the Unreal Engine 5. A latest-generation graphics engine prized for its flexibility and the graphics that can be obtained with . If the rendering, at times generic, can bother some, there is no doubt that this should not be the case here.
As a recognized artist, Raf Grassetti should bring his paw to ensure that there is a real identity. Apart from God of War, he was able to express his talent on the sagas Mass Effect, inFamous or dragon age. He was also asked for comics or for the creation of figurines and statues (Sideshow, Mcfarlane Toys, Hasbro). And in his spare time, he even revisited great classics like Dragon Ball Z.
