Pictures: Netflix
Following the news over the weekend that Battle Kitty will soon be departing Netflix, the streamer has confirmed even more titles will be “discontinued” from the service beginning on December 1st as the streamer begins phasing out the interactive technology. Netflix has confirmed the removals to What’s on Netflix.
The Verge was first to report on the removals publicly, with a representative for Netflix telling them, “The technology served its purpose, but is now limiting as we focus on technological efforts in other areas.”
The news is perhaps not all that surprising given that Mike Verdu, who railed on the media on LinkedIn yesterday for their reporting on Netflix’s gaming efforts as he moves into a new role including Artificial Intelligence, said in an interview last year that the interactive format was no longer being actively worked on. The last project to release was the romantic comedy, Choose Love, released in August 2023.
As Netflix preps its new user interface, and given that the format takes place entirely within the Netflix UI, Netflix likely considered the “technical debt” of keeping interactive programming running across the majority of devices not worth it.
Netflix’s gaming efforts continue on mobile, with over 100 titles available at the time of publishing and via Cloud on select devices in select regions, with over ten titles available.
Interactive Specials Already Removed from Netflix
Ahead of the December 1st removals, Netflix has been slowly removing a couple of interactive titles already. Mostly, these removals are timed alongside the licenses behind them expiring. Removals thus far include:
- Minecraft: Story Mode – Removed in December 2022 after around four years.
- Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale – Removed in January 2024 after seven years.
Interactive Specials Leaving Netflix on December 1st
Listed in order of release, here are the interactive specials that will be departing on the first of December:
- Buddy Thunderstruck: The Maybe Pile (2017)
- Stretch Armstrong: The Breakout (2018)
- Captain Underpants Epic Choice-o-Rama (2020)
- The Boss Baby: Get That Baby! (2020)
- Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal (2020)
- Spirit Riding Free: Ride Along Adventure (2020)
- Animals on the Loose: A You vs. Wild Movie (2021)
- Escape The Undertaker (2021)
- Headspace: Unwind Your Mind (2021)
- Johnny Test’s Ultimate Meatloaf Quest (2021)
- The Last Kids on Earth: Happy Apocalypse to You (2021)
- Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Hidden Adventure (2022)
- Barbie Epic Road Trip (2022)
- Cat Burglar (2022)
- Trivia Quest (2022)
- Triviaverse (2022)
- Choose Love (2023)
- You vs. Wild: Out Cold (2021)
- We Lost Our Human (2023)
Four Interactive Specials Will Remain on Netflix from December 1st
Although the majority of the interactive special library is leaving, four will remain, although at the moment, it’s unclear what devices they’ll be playable on and for how long they’ll remain. If the technology remains in some format, we understand that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt will leave in 2035 and Black Mirror in the late 2030s (if season 7 is its the last season).
- Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend (2020)
- Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls (2022)
- You vs. Wild (2019)
Once these titles depart, they’d almost certainly be classified as lost media. While the DreamWorks titles will undoubtedly go back to their license owner, it’s highly unlikely they’ll be playable again given the technology was designed specifically for Netflix and no other Netflix competitor hosts interactive titles.
For more on what’s leaving Netflix in December 2024, keep it locked here on What’s on Netflix.
Are you disappointed that these interactive specials are all leaving Netflix? Let us know in the comments.
