Netflix Stories cancelled, previous content will remain available

• Netflix Stories is set to be cancelled
• Previous releases will remain available
• It represents a sudden pivot from their move towards narrative games

Netflix has reportedly ditched its Netflix Stories franchise in a surprising move for the narrative-driven series. Including such fairly popular hits as Love is Blind, Perfect Match and Virgin River, all of which are being kept available to players, but any future releases are now firmly on ice.

Yes, this is definitely a bit more businessy as far as news goes, so it’s no coincidence our sister site covered it first. But at the same time, this is very interesting, and somewhat concerning, from a player’s standpoint when it comes to the future Netflix Games strategy.

For better or for worse, it seemed as if Netflix was pivoting away from indie and towards more narrative-driven releases that could tie into its television and film offerings. However, with the cancellation of Netflix Stories, it seems as if that’s now dead in the water, leaving other avenues and changes looking more likely.

Someone will pay

I’m not about to speculate wildly that they’re going to make Netflix Games into its own subscription, or anything so drastic. But as Craig over on .biz points out, Netflix Stories was way down the charts compared to popular releases such as GTA: San Andreas and Squid Game Unleashed.

With that in mind then, I think that we may see a pivot back towards ports and new, flashier releases that aren’t just in the narrative genre. A recent piece by Paige over on .biz meanwhile suggests that Netflix may be looking at party games to fill out their catalogue. Jackbox, anyone? It was something me and Will spoke about on the newest episode of the Pocket Gamer Podcast, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

But there’s still plenty to play out there, especially if you dig into our list of the top five new mobile games to try this week!