One of the earliest creative leaders in the Halo series is now leading the development of a new AAA title at Netflix Games. Netflix is most well-known for its triumphs in streaming, but it has continued to bolster its gaming division, recently bringing former Overwatch producer Chacko Sonny to lead the Netflix game studio in Los Angeles late last year.Netflix has long been one of the most recognizable names in streaming and has put more effort into strengthening its gaming division in recent years. It has opened several game studios and acquired indie developers such as Spry Fox and Night School Studio. Outside of this, some mobile games such as Valiant Hearts: Coming Home have launched on the Netflix mobile app where other titles such as Into the Breach and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge can be played by Netflix subscribers.Netflix's moves in game development have continued with the news that Joseph Staten, an early creative leader in the Halo series, has joined Netflix Games as a creative director and will be developing both a AAA multi-platform game and an original property. Staten enthusiastically announced this on Twitter with many gamers glad to see him joining the team soon after this month's reveal that he was leaving his position as Head of Creative of Halo Infinite at 343 Industries, ending a roughly 20-year journey with Halo.
Given Staten's long history with the Halo franchise and the inclusion of former Overwatch producer Chacko Sonny, it has been speculated that one of the new titles from Netflix Games will be a first-person shooter. With the wealth of properties Netflix has under its belt, it is possible that one of Netflix's new games could be based on shows such as The Umbrella Academy or Stranger Things, the latter of which has previously been adapted into mobile games. However, the announcement of an original IP shows that there will likely be more announcements coming soon.
With this activity from Netflix Games and the success of recent gaming adaptations like The Last of Us and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, there is a continued pattern by the broader entertainment industry to embrace gaming. Netflix has gone even further down this route with last year's announcement that a series based on Horizon Zero Dawn is in development. While it will likely be some time before fans get a good look at any of these forthcoming projects, it shows that Netflix will continue to take its gaming efforts seriously and is sure to produce interesting results in the future.