Spry Fox's post-Netflix plan
A pay cut for the studio's co-founders, a revised pay system for workers and some advice for navigating the period of time when your game studio is owned by a mega-corp
The formerly indie game studio Spry Fox is officially indie again, having completed its spin-out from Netflix, the company announced today.
Game File first reported about Spry Fox’s new direction in December. Netflix had purchased the long-time maker of cozy games (Triple Town, Alphabear, Cozy Grove) in 2022, but changes to the streaming giant’s gaming plans in the past year or so have led to shutdowns of some of its internal game studios and an amicable split with Spry Fox.
In the announcement today, Spry Fox co-founder David Edery wrote enthusiastically about this new chapter for the studio and plans for Spirit Crossing, “our biggest title ever.” He wrote:
“We’re making a big bet: that a lot of people are hungry for a massively social game about self-expression, friendship and community, built with intense respect and affection for everyone who plays it.”
(I wrote about Spirit Crossing’s uplifting vibes and intriguing ideas last year.)
As part of the news, Edery said that he and studio co-founder Daniel Cook are taking pay cuts, down to $20,000 a year, to help keep the studio and the project viable. Nearly 50 people, including outside contractors, are working on the game, which is targeted for a public beta in the spring and full release later in 2026.
Edery acknowledged to Game File that there were some cuts at Spry Fox due to no longer being part of Netflix. “We’ve been doing everything we can to support the folks who were laid off,” he said.
The studio has also returned to a needs-based pay system that it used prior to its run with Netflix:
“We ask people to take some time (days, not minutes or hours) to think carefully about what they need to live comfortably (i.e. pay all their bills, enjoy their hobbies, save adequately for the future, etc.) Whatever that costs, we pay it if we can.”
I’ve been intrigued by Spry Fox’s post-Netflix survival path, given the fate of so many other studios that were purchased in recent years by mega-corps and have since shuttered. (For the most recent example, see the item below about Meta closing three long-running game studios that it had purchased in recent years).
Edery thinks it helped that Spirit Crossing a) has promise as a game but b) that there was a case to be made for its best success to be outside of Netflix’s subscriber-focused gaming ecosystem.
“The execs at Netflix agreed with us that, as a hyper-social game, Spirit Crossing was a genuinely compelling experience that could best spread its wings as a cross-platform title, playable by Netflix members and non-members alike,” he told Game File. (Netflix still plans to publish Spirit Crossing on mobile; while Spry Fox brings the game to other platforms, namely PC.)
As for how the spin-out happened, Edery wrote today that it occurred quickly: “Three months from ‘maybe we should explore this’ to ‘we’re independent again.’”
Elaborating a bit for Game File, Edery said that “there was a good case to be made for the spin-out, and having a good relationship with a lot of people within Netflix, many of whom are not executives, made (I think) a big difference in this situation.”
In fact, this is Edery’s key advice to anyone else running a studio that might find itself in an uncertain spot inside a bigger company and potentially facing a closure or spin-out:
“It never hurts to develop a good relationship with as many people as you possibly can within the parent company.
That’s so obvious that I feel a little silly saying it, but I think it’s really important. If people know you, appreciate you (and know that you appreciate them), and have good reason to trust you, then all sorts of good things can happen (and even if those good things don’t happen, this is just a nice way to live your life.)
I think a lot of people fall into a trap of deciding that it’s only important for them to have a good relationship with one key executive, or to accomplish one specific thing. But big companies are very complex entities, and things are changing within them all the time. There’s never just one person or just one thing that matters.”
Item 2: In brief…
🎮 GameStop is closing hundreds of stores in the U.S., resulting in recent headlines such as these from the past week or so:
GameStop reportedly closing 16 Georgia locations (Atlanta News First)
19 GameStop locations closing in Chicago, suburbs as retailer reduces footprint (NBC 5 Chicago)
GameStop closes 5 St. Louis-area stores as part of nationwide wave of closures (KSDK)
GameStop’s downsizing hits Flagstaff as Woodlands Village location closes its doors (Arizona Daily Sun)
National retail chain closes 400-plus stores, including some in Alabama (Advance Local Alabama)
GameStop closing stores in MD. See list of stores closing (The Daily Times)
GameStop closing hundreds of stores across US, Oklahoma in January 2026. See list. (The Oklahoman)
GameStop quietly closing stores including some in Pa. (Penn Live)
At least 8 Mississippi GameStop stores to close. See the list here (Clarion Ledger)
GameStop Closes South Jackson Store (Talk West Tennessee)
GameStop unveils $35 billion pay plan for CEO Cohen tied to lofty targets (Reuters)
👀 Fired Rockstar workers have failed to persuade a UK tribunal to grant them interim pay, as part of an ongoing dispute between the workers and the GTA studio over whether the dismissals were due to union efforts or leaks, Bloomberg reports.
Noted Bloomberg: “The ruling made points that appeared to support both sides of the battle.” A final hearing on the dispute is forthcoming.
💰 Rockstar has launched an official marketplace for GTA Online user-made mods that can add “basic security lasers,” a “surgery system,” or a “firefighter job,” and numerous other features to the game.
Prices for the mods range from free to $499.99.
🚫 Meta is shutting down three VR-focused game studios: Sanzaru (Asgard’s Wrath), Twisted Pixel (Marvel’s Deadpool VR) and Armature (Resident Evil 4 VR), Bloomberg reports.
All three studios had been releasing well-regarded non-VR games for years prior to being purchased by Meta:
Sanzaru had revived Sucker Punch’s Sly Cooper series for PlayStation
Twisted Pixel created early Xbox Live Arcade hit ‘Splosion Man
Armature, helmed by veterans of Retro Studios (Metroid Prime), created the 2D Metroidvania Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate.
🚫 More layoffs/closures: mobile gaming giant Playtika is cutting 450 jobs (Games Industry), Ubisoft’s Massive studio is expected to cut 55 (IGN); Ubisoft said it cut 29 jobs in its Abu Dhabi studio last year (Game Industry).
🇨🇦 A Canadian union has filed a labor complaint against Ubisoft over the closure of the company’s Halifax studio, the CBC reports.
The union described a Wednesday meeting with the publisher as “disappointing.” The publisher told the CBC it is negotiating with CWA about providing the laid off employees longer severance.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia is transferring around $12 billion in stock held by its sovereign wealth fund in Nintendo, Bandai Namco and other gaming firms to its Savvy Games Group, Bloomberg reports.
The state-funded Savvy owns Pokémon Go-maker Niantic, Monopoly Go-maker Scopely, multiple esports organizations and is building its own game development operation.
🎮 Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have posted an updated version of their “Shared Commitment to Safer Gaming,” a list of principles largely about online gaming moderation first published by the trio of game console-makers in 2020.
A Game File comparison of the old and new documents shows:
new mentions of collaborations with the Thriving in Games Group and the Family Online Safety Institute
a new mention of investing in “leading technology and proactive collaboration to help thwart improper conduct and content”
and a recognition that gaming safety features must be easy to use and ”understand.” (That last word is new to the newer version.)
🤔 EA had delayed the launch of Battlefield 6’s second season of post-release content by a month, citing “community feedback” and to spend more time refining their work, PC Gamer reports.
📺 Amazon has greenlit a Fallout-themed reality show, in which contestants “ live together in a top-secret vault,” VGC reports.
🐬 New Ecco the Dolphin games are in development, with the involvement of the lead creator of the original Sega Genesis game, Gematsu reports.
Item 3: Game File meets the world
I was on The Verge’s Version History show to discuss the Christmas gift bummer that was the NES Power Glove. It was my first time trying the thing on.
I was on another episode of Version History to chronicle the history of Flappy Bird. I am briefly the villain of the piece, as you’ll see…
The wonderful folks at Defector wrote a whole blog about last week’s incredible “eight bucks is still five bucks” bit from my interview with Peak co-developer Nick Kaman. They even ran a 24-hour sale inspired by the quote!