Netflix (NFLX) stock was down on Thursday following news that the streaming service has sold one of its game developers, raising concerns that the company is moving away from gaming. Spry Fox, the developer behind Cozy Grove and Alphabear, has been sold back to the studio’s founders as it continues to work on its next game, Spirit Crossing.
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While some might be worried that this sale is a signal for Netflix’s future gaming plans, that isn’t the case. Instead of focusing on original games for its service, Netflix has shifted to making games based on its own properties or other well-established series. The streaming service has also found that social games perform well on its platform. None of Spry Fox’s games fit into these categories, so it makes sense that Netflix would offload the studio.
Netflix’s switch in game development philosophy came alongside a leadership change. Alain Tascan, President of Games at Netflix, took over the position from former Electronic Arts (EA) executive Mike Verdu in July 2024. While Verdu focused on development of original titles as the head of Netflix Games, Tascan is more interested in leveraging existing IPs.
Netflix Stock Movement Today
Netflix stock was down 1.7% on Thursday but remained up 14.75% year-to-date. The stock has also rallied 13.26% over the past 12 months.
Is Netflix Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Netflix is Strong Buy, based on 28 Buy, seven Hold, and a single Sell rating over the past three months. With that comes an average NFLX stock price target of $139.13, representing a potential 35.98% upside for the shares.
