Picture: Spry Fox
It’s been a turbulent year for Netflix’s gaming division (our games category is actually depressing to go through – sorry), and the hits just keep on coming. In a new update from Spry Fox, the studio has confirmed that Netflix is officially dropping its mobile publishing agreement for their life-sim game, Spirit Crossing.
If you’ve been following our coverage of Netflix Games, you’ll know that Spirit Crossing was once heralded (by us!) as Netflix’s most ambitious game project to date. Serving as a spiritual successor to the beloved Cozy Grove, the title has been in beta for some time, building a dedicated community of cozy gamers eagerly awaiting its full rollout which was planned for later this year.
However, the writing has seemingly been on the wall for a few months. Earlier this year, Spry Fox officially spun out of Netflix to become an independent studio once again. At the time, founder David Edery assured fans in an interview with us that Netflix still planned to support and publish Spirit Crossing.
Unfortunately, due to a recent continued “strategy shift” within Netflix’s gaming sector, that is no longer the case.
In a statement released to the community, Spry Fox shared the unfortunate news regarding the publishing deal, but thankfully confirmed that the game itself is safe.
“Hey everyone, I have some major, unfortunate news to share with you all,” the statement begins on the official Discord for the game today. “Last week, we were officially notified by Netflix that, due to their ongoing strategy shift, they are terminating the mobile publishing agreement with us for Spirit Crossing.”
Despite the sudden change in plans, the studio quickly reassured its players: “Don’t worry, this does NOT mean that Spirit Crossing itself is canceled! We still plan to launch the game before the end of this year.”
For those currently enjoying the game in its early access or beta phases, the transition will cause some temporary hiccups. The developer noted that “Netflix will soon cease publishing Spirit Crossing for iOS and Android devices,” though they admitted they “don’t yet know exactly when.”
While the game will absolutely still release on mobile platforms as an independent title, Spry Fox warned fans that “there will likely be a period of time during which it is unavailable.”
Players will also need to manually transfer their progress to keep playing once the Netflix version shuts down. “We are adding a method for you to migrate your account from Netflix to Steam in an upcoming mobile update,” the studio explained. “Migrating WILL require action on your part, so please stay tuned for instructions that we’ll publish in the coming weeks.”
In an industry currently plagued by studio closures and mass layoffs, the silver lining is that Spry Fox is financially secure enough to weather this storm. The studio was quick to point out that their independence has given them a safety net: “Fortunately, Netflix’s decision will NOT halt or cripple development of Spirit Crossing overall. When we spun out of Netflix in January, we made sure that we’d have enough money to get this game launched in good shape, and to support the game after its launch. And so we still plan to launch the game towards the end of this year, and we don’t need to do layoffs, or anything horrible like that.”
They do add, however, “The timing of this sucks, quite frankly. We are already working very, very hard to prepare the game for launch and address this community’s most critical feedback. And it isn’t realistic to delay our global launch date; we’ve made significant financial commitments to our plans for that date. As an indie developer, we have got to hit our deadlines.”
What is going on with Netflix Games?
Netflix dropping Spirit Crossing is just the latest casualty in what is clearly a massive restructuring of Netflix’s gaming ambitions.
This move comes hot on the heels of the devastating news that Netflix has shut down Night School Studio, the brilliant minds behind Oxenfree and Oxenfree II: Lost Signals. Between shuttering internal studios, losing Spry Fox, and now dropping publishing duties for games that are nearly finished, it’s clear that Netflix’s internal strategy shift is pulling the company away from the ambitious, narrative-driven indie space it was initially championing.
We’ll keep you updated as soon as we know exactly when Spirit Crossing will be removed from the Netflix app, and we’ll be sure to share Spry Fox’s account migration guide once it goes live.
Are you disappointed to see Netflix drop Spirit Crossing from its upcoming roster? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.