The engine would go on to be used for several projects by Konami, from Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain to a number of its Pro Evolution Soccer games, which would eventually be rebranded to eFootball. The year 2020 saw its use coming to an end, however, with Konami switching to Unreal Engine for future titles.

“Julien is known for football games people loved because they were built with fun and feel at the center,” said Delphi Interactive partner and executive producer on the game Theodor Tang-Peronard in a statement, according to GamesMarkt. “That way of thinking is core to how we’re reimagining FIFA in simulation for a much broader audience. Julien’s experience brings a level of clarity that sharpens our decisions and helps ensure the game is easy to pick up, yet still has depth.”

The studio will be working on the FIFA project with Refactor Games, with the two companies sharing “a very specific approach” for the project, according to Merceron. “With small, elite teams of top-tier designer and developer talent, we can stay true to the core creative vision and serve the great fandom of football. In a way, we are returning to the principles that made the great football games of the past.”

The FIFA project was unveiled during Netflix’s Tudum event back in December, and is slated to be released in time for the FIFA World Cup 2026. In its announcement, Netflix described the title as being a “newly reimagined FIFA football simulation game.”

“Football is the biggest thing in the world,” said Delphi Interactive founder and CEO Casper Daugaard during the announcement. “As lifelong FIFA fans, we’re honored to help usher in the bold next generation and reimagine the future of the franchise. Our mission is simple: Make the FIFA game the most fun, approachable, and global football game ever created.”

The last major video game release under the FIFA banner was EA’s FIFA 23. Since then, however, the company has gone on to release more football games under the new label EA Sports FC.

In the meantime, FIFA has also teamed up with Solace to unveil a new football game dubbed FIFA Heroes. The title is being developed for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android, and is slated for release sometime this year. Developer Enver Studio has confirmed that it will be a 5-on-5 football game with a focus on mascots and legends from the sport.

FIFA Heroes will have dynamic physics powering its core football gameplay, which will lean more on the arcade side of things. After building up their squad with football personalities, recognisable fictional characters and the official FIFA mascots, players can partake in single-player and multiplayer matches. There will also be a career mode with its own player progression system.

It is also slated to be the first time that official FIFA mascots will be playable characters in a football game. At launch, it will include three mascots from host nations—Maple for Canada, Zayu for Mexico and Clutch for the US—with more roster additions planned for later.

While no real details about what DON’T NOD is developing for Netflix have been revealed as of yet, the project has already begun development at the company’s Montreal studio. In its post, the company has noted that this partnership leverages DON’T NOD’s “position as a specialist in storytelling for major IPs and its ambition to explore new formats including cloud gaming.” The company confirmed later in its post that the project will be a video game adaptation of a Netflix-owned IP.

As part of its earnings results, DON’T NOD has also revealed that it generated €7 million in revenue, which was driven by the operational savings made with its efforts at reorganising its Paris studio. Expenses, on the other hand, came out to around €6.4 million, driven by the marketing expenses for the launch of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. The company noted that sales of the title remained below expectations, leading to a partial write-down of €13.1 million, which ended up having no impact on cash flow.

“This first half of the year has been characterized by solid revenue growth and the initial effects of our performance plan, whose full benefits will materialize in the second half of the year,” said DON’T NOD CEO Oskar Guilbert. “The signing of a development agreement with Netflix, is a key milestone for the Group.”

“Finally, we will continue our efforts to secure and develop our intellectual property through co-productions, while also engaging in projects based on external licenses. Together with all our teams, we will continue to preserve and promote our unique identity, based on strong narrative experiences that have been widely acclaimed by critics and effective game mechanics.”

Looking forward, DON’T NOD is noting a number of releases that will have positive impacts on its earnings. This includes The Lonesome Guild, which was released earlier this week. The next major title for the company – Aphelion – is also slated to come out some time in 2026, and will mark the kick-off of a brand new IP. There are also ongoing negotiations of a project referred to only as P14.

Aphelion was unveiled back in June during Xbox Games Showcase 2025, and will revolve around exploring an alien planet with a large variety of environments. The trailer revealing the title showcased ravines and mountains that players will get to explore. Along with this, there will also be a focus on narrative to go with its tense gameplay moments.

The story of Aphelion revolves around the discovery of a ninth planet in the Solar System, dubbed Persephone. Players will take on the role of one of the astronauts aboard the Hope 01 scientific mission, which ends up crash landing on to the planet. Aphelion is slated for release on PC and Xbox Series X/S, along with a day one release on Xbox Game Pass.

Among the companies that will be present at the event are 2K Games, Amazon Games, SNK, Netflix Games, Electronic Arts, Riot Games, PlayStation, and Sega. Check out the full list of companies in the graphic below.

It is worth noting that, since this is only the first round of partners revealed for Summer Games Fest 2024, there will undoubtedly be more studios and publishers announced for the event later.

As for the event itself, we can expect a wide range of titles, from triple-A releases from 2K Games and PlayStation, to indie titles from Annapurna Interactive and Take-Two’s Private Division label. 2K Games has been among the first companies to announce that a new title in one of its “biggest and most beloved franchises” will be shown off at the event.

Summer Games Fest 2024 is slated for June 7.

You’ve been waiting for this one.

Here’s a first look at more than 55 partners taking part in #SummerGameFest activities this June.

Sign up at https://t.co/gO9QVWF4nN for event alerts.

We’ll see you live on Friday, June 7 for the multiplatform showcase from @youtubetheater pic.twitter.com/qT0XWjS8HJ

— Summer Game Fest (@summergamefest) May 16, 2024

Hades, available now to iPhone and iPad players, was developed for iOS in collaboration with Secret6. The game needs an iPhone or iPad running on iOS 16 or later, and players will be able to play as long as they are subscribed to at least the Netflix Standard plan.

While Hades is becoming available on more platforms, Supergiant Games is currently working on the follow-up, appropriately titled Hades 2. The game is targeting an early access launch for Q2 2024, and will be available on PC through Steam and Epic Games Store to start with.

The studio has revealed that the early access release of Hades 2 will feature at least as much content as the original Hades‘ early access launch included. The game will have major updates that add more to its core content while also taking feedback from players into account to further refine its gameplay.

For more details about Hades, check out our review.

In fact, the upcoming game isn’t the extent of what Atlus has planned for the new IP, according to known leaker @MbKKssTBhz5 on Twitter, who has accurately leaked Atlus-related announcements in the past, including Metaphor: ReFantazio and Persona 3 Reload. As per the leaker, Atlus intends to “expand the Metaphor: ReFantazio IP in different ways”, and interestingly enough, one of those ways is going to be a spinoff that the company will work on in collaboration with Netflix Games.

Of course, with Metaphor: ReFantazio itself still a ways off from launch, it’s unlikely that we’ll be hearing about its Netflix spinoff in the near future (assuming that it does exist).

Metaphor: ReFantazio is due out this Fall for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Leaks have claimed that Atlus will also release the game for the rumoured Nintendo Switch 2.

There are plans to expand Metaphor: ReFantazio as a new IP in different ways. A Netflix game is part of this plan.

— みどり (@MbKKssTBhz5) January 30, 2024

At The Game Awards, developer 2D Boy unveiled World of Goo 2. Once again bringing the same gooey gameplay that will see players trying to navigate puzzles in a sidescrolling 2D experience, the sequel is certainly looking like it will capture the vibe and mechanics of its predecessor quite well (not least because of its rather familiar art style). Check out the announcement trailer below.

World of Goo 2 is set to launch at some point in 2024. There’s no word yet on what platforms the game will be available on. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks and months.

The report indicates that the company is trying to expand its video game offerings beyond smaller mobile games, and that Netflix has seemingly “discussed plans” to release a game in the Grand Theft Auto franchise on its own platform with Take-Two Interactive, which owns the Grand Theft Auto IP.

An analyst has revealed that Netflix has reportedly spent around $1 billion in its attempts at bringing gaming to its platform so far, and there don’t seem to be any indications that the company will be slowing down.

In recent news for the next major Grand Theft Auto title, the Australian Classification website had seemingly rated Grand Theft Auto 6 for release with an MA15+ rating, which is quite a bit more lenient than the MA18+ rating for Grand Theft Auto 5.

Staten announced his new job at Netflix Games on Twitter, revealing that the game under development is based on an original IP. He also stated in his tweet that part of his job will involve collaborating with other developers to “build worlds filled with iconic characters, deep mysteries, and endless adventures”.

Earlier this year, rumours were floating around that Staten would be leaving 343 Industries to join the publishing arm of Xbox. The rumours came about in light of a large number of layoffs at Microsoft, which also involved studios letting go of quite a few developers and having to restructure.

Both Staten and Microsoft confirmed his departure earlier this month. During his time with various studios, including Bungie and 343 Industries, Staten has worked as the head of creative on Halo Infinite, and worked on the likes of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. Staten has also worked with Bungie as the lead writer for Destiny.

Netflix hasn’t yet revealed any details about the game Staten is currently working on.

So today, I'm thrilled to announce that I've joined @Netflix Games as Creative Director for a brand-new AAA multiplatform game and original IP. Let's go! 2/2

— Joseph Staten (@joestaten) April 17, 2023

Netflix has announced that it’s establishing its own internal game development studio (the company previously made it clear that it had no intentions of going on an acquisition spree like many others in the industry have done). The studio will be based in Helsinki, Finland, and will be led by former Zynga vice president Marko Lastikka.

Netflix says it picked Helsinki as the location for the studio because it is “home to some of the best game talent in the world”. Another Netflix-owned studio, Next Games, is also based in Helsinki.

“This is another step in our vision to build a world-class games studio that will bring a variety of delightful and deeply engaging original games — with no ads and no in-app purchases — to our hundreds of millions of members around the world,” Netflix’s VP of game studios Amir Rahimi writes.

He concludes: “It’s still early days, and we have much more work to do to deliver a great games experience on Netflix. Creating a game can take years, so I’m proud to see how we’re steadily building the foundation of our games studios in our first year, and look forward to sharing what we produce in the coming years.”

“All you need is a Netflix subscription,” Netflix writes. “There’s no ads, no additional fees and no in-app purchases.” The company also confirms that subscribers will be able to play games on multiple mobile devices on the same account.

The rollout for the service has started today, and it is available on Android mobile devices worldwide. The service currently offers a selection of five games- Stranger Things: 1984, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Shooting Hoops, Card Blast, and Teeter Up. Additionally, for games that don’t ordinarily require an internet connection to be played, Netflix Games will allow them to be played when you’re offline as well.

While that’s a pretty limited lineup right now, Netflix plans on building it over time with additional games. The company writes: “Whether you’re craving a casual game you can start from scratch or an immersive experience that lets you dig deeper into your favorite stories, we want to begin to build a library of games that offers something for everyone. We’re in the early days of creating a great gaming experience, and we’re excited to take you on this journey with us.”

Later on in the announcement, Netflix claims that it intends to “cater to every kind of player.” The company writes: “Just like our series, films and specials, we want to design games for any level of play and every kind of player, whether you’re a beginner or a lifelong gamer.

“And we’re just getting started. We’re excited to continue improving our mobile gaming experience and adding to our entertainment offering in the months ahead.”

It’ll be interesting to see how quickly Netflix intends to expand the service by bringing it to additional platforms, and perhaps offering more large-scale experiences. The fact that the service is being offered at no additional cost to those who’re already subscribed to Netflix is certainly a big point in its favour.

Earlier this year, datamining efforts uncovered evidence of the Netflix Games app, alongside images of Ghost of Tsushima, as well as the PS5’s DualSense controller, indicating that plans for expansion into consoles with AAA games in its library might be in the works.

Netflix recently also acquired Oxenfree developer Night School Studio, though the company has said that you shouldn’t expect to see them go on an acquisition spree anytime soon.