When Netflix Hits Pause: The July 2025 Mobile Game Purge—and Why It’s Not the First Time

Netflix’s push into mobile gaming promised a laid-back way to play premium titles on the couch or commute. But as July rolls in, subscribers are waking up to a big list of departures: over 20 games are vanishing from Netflix Games, including indie darlings and blockbuster exclusives.

Later this month, Netflix will pull 21 mobile games from its library. Here are some of the most eye-catching departures:

Hades (iOS exclusive) – bows out July 1
Monument Valley, Monument Valley 2 and Monument Valley 3 – leave July 14
Braid: Anniversary Edition – leaves July 14
Death’s Door – leaves July 14
Carmen Sandiego, Katana Zero, Raji: An Ancient Epic, Ludo King, Rainbow Six: SMOL and more…

These titles span puzzle masterpieces, roguelike legends, and high-profile licensed IPs. Once exclusively available through Netflix’s mobile app, most won’t reappear on the App Store or Google Play—at least not immediately.

Not a One-Off: A History of Game Cuts

Netflix’s mobile games arm has weathered multiple trimming rounds in the past year:

December 2024 saw its first major wave of removals, with a handful of exclusive titles quietly disappearing.
February 2025 brought an early-month cull of six games, underscoring the volatility of licensing deals and development cancellations.
This spring, Bandersnatch—the Emmy-winning interactive Black Mirror special—left the platform on May 12, part of Netflix’s broader pullback from interactive storytelling.
In June 2025, Devolver Digital’s acclaimed Poinpy also exited Netflix, though the studio is actively working to re-release it on app stores outside the service.

These waves signal that Netflix’s gaming strategy has been in constant flux, shifting with executive changes and market realities.

On why the purges keep coming? Well, several factors explain these recurrent cutbacks:

Licensing Expirations: Many Netflix Games are based on third-party IP (e.g., Carmen Sandiego, SpongeBob), meaning contracts end and renewals get pricey or complex.
Studio Restructuring: Following the closure of its AAA game studio in October 2024 and the departure of gaming lead Mike Verdu, Netflix has streamlined its gaming roadmap, canceling planned projects like Tales of the Shire and Crashlands 2.
Strategic Refocus: Internal sources indicate Netflix will slow down mobile-only launches and funnel resources into “big-screen” experiences—cloud gaming on TV, web, and consoles—leveraging its strongest TV and film IPs for deeper cross-platform experiences.

What This Means for Players

If you’ve been holding off on trying Hades or Monument Valley on your phone, now’s the time to dive in. After these deadlines, your only recourse may be hunting down alternative releases or waiting for studios to re-release titles independently. In fact, Devolver Digital has already pledged to bring Katana Zero, Death’s Door, and Poinpy to traditional app stores “as soon as possible”.

While these cuts feel abrupt, they’re part of a larger maturation. Netflix Games is testing what resonates—big IP tie-ins, family-friendly titles, and tentpole crossovers with hit shows. Upcoming cloud gaming bets, like Ghost Detective on TV and Spirit Crossing (an MMO), alongside live WWE 2K streams, suggest that Netflix isn’t abandoning games—it’s refining its focus to align with core streaming strengths and subscriber behavior.

So, is this the first time Netflix has yanked games? Absolutely not. July 2025 marks the latest, largest tranche in an ongoing curation cycle. It highlights the balancing act of hosting licensed content while crafting a sustainable, long-term gaming ecosystem.