Mike Verdu, who served as Netflix‘s Vice President of gaming, has left the company. For nearly four years, Verdu worked as an executive, first spearheading the company’s entry into gaming, then looking to drive results for the company’s Artificial Intelligence technology. What’s clear is that Netflix appears to be figuring out different methods for success in each of these ventures, but it may take some time before gamers fully see how Netflix truly plans to change its strategies.

By 2023, Netflix Stories had launched, offering players a way to keep interacting with concepts from their favorite TV shows, such as Love is Blind and Outer Banks. Although the company was growing a unique core pillar of its gaming service, it seemed like Netflix was also prioritizing more traditional ventures in the medium. However, recent changes seem to signal that Netflix is fine doing its own thing without competing directly against the console market.

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According to a Game File report, Vice President of Netflix Games Mike Verdu has left the company, reflecting a shift in Netflix’s strategies for the gaming market going forward. Verdu was known as the executive who set the course for Netflix’s entry into the video games space. He joined the company in 2021, and oversaw a variety of new releases and ports to Netflix. Through the service, gamers were given access to casual titles like Cut The Rope Daily as well as award-winning classics like Dead Cells. As the industry shifted, Netflix incorporated new strategies.

Netflix Games VP Leaves Company

Verdu eventually started working as the company’s vice president of Generative AI, and although many industry leaders like Sony also have AI plans, people still don’t know what Netflix is planning to do with that technology. Alain Tascan, an industry veteran who served as an executive at Ubisoft, EA, and Epic, was hired as Netflix’s President of games in 2024, while the company sought to continue growing its service.

Instead of trying to get fans of mobile games to play titles that are mainly available everywhere else, Netflix has focused on “refining” its approach to bolster its catalog of narrative-focused titles related to its existing franchises. The cancelation of six game releases that were originally planned for Netflix, along with the shutdown of its SoCal studio known as Team Blue, seemed to cement this change in strategy. This does not necessarily mean that Netflix won’t be involved in the production of titles for wider audiences, but the company does seem determined to appeal more to its niche.

Netflix

founded

August 29, 1997

notable shows

Stranger Things, The Witcher, Orange is The New Black