Netflix’s gaming strategy has yet to take clear shape, but generative AI could end up being a big part of it. Or at least that’s what the company seems to hope for, based on a recent job posting. The Squid Games and Stranger Things streaming giant is looking to hire a director of generative AI for gaming to potentially lead implementation of the experimental technology across its game studios. They’ll be paid up to $840K for the honor.
Shared on Bluesky by the comic writer and artist Kendra Wells, the listing describes how this prospective leader within the company’s gaming division will “define and lead the Gen AI strategy across Netflix Games, helping to shape foundational infrastructure to player-facing features” and “identify and evaluate opportunities to apply Gen AI across our portfolio and studios both in the creation of new experiences and improving our workflows and pipelines.” The position is onsite in Los Angeles, California and, thanks to state disclosure laws, advertises a salary band of $430,000 to $840,000. Netflix laid off developers at its Oxenfree maker Night School Studio who probably weren’t making close to a million each earlier this year.
This isn’t Netflix’s first foray into generative AI gaming. The division’s previous boss, Mike Verdu, held the title VP of GenAI for Games until earlier this year when he abruptly left the company. “Many view this technology with fear, but I am a game-maker at heart and I see its potential to unlock all of us, to create mind-blowing new experiences for players, to lift us to new heights,” the industry veteran wrote in a 2024 LinkedIn post complete with AI-slop imagery. “Yes, we’ll have to adapt and change, but when have we failed to meet that challenge as an industry?”
His replacement, former Epic Games exec Alain Tascan, took over in March and said Netflix’s evolving gaming strategy would focus on party games, narrative games, and quick mobile adaptations of its hit franchises. Its first Smart TV games are supposed to launch later this year, while Spirit Crossing, a cozy MMO sim that mashes together Animal Crossing and Studio Ghibli vibes, will be the test of whether it can finally deliver a breakout hit. It walked away from its AAA blockbuster gaming ambitions last year. Who knows if this exploration of generative AI-influenced gaming will be just as short-lived?
