Alain Tascan, who took charge as president of games, Netflix, a few months ago, has hired Jeet Shroff as VP, games tech. Mike Verdu was assigned to a new role not long ago when Tascan was hired. The latter has also implemented some job cuts in addition to various cost-cutting measures. While some reports say a dozen roles have been eliminated, some report that less than 35 have been let go in Netlfix’s gaming division last week.
Netflix’s games have not had as many takers as was expected in the three-year period since their launch. Of the more than 100 games launched by Netflix since 2021, Oxenfree II and GTA Trilogy are reportedly the only two popular games.
The PR operation of Netflix witnessed job cuts on 10 October, with about 10 roles being eliminated in the series and film publicity divisions. These cuts were implemented by Natalie Bjelajac, VP, domestic publicity, as part of a reorganisation exercise. Amongst those impacted were Jason Clark director of publicity who has served the organisation for more than seven years. The film department of the streaming giant had witnessed job cuts in April 2024, when 15 people were laid off.
At a time when the media industry is facing financial pressures, Netflix aims to focus on retaining subscribers, which is probably the reason for the absence of ads within its games.
