Spry Fox, the developer behind Alphabear, has announced that both CEOs and employees have accepted salary reductions to complete what they describe as their "biggest game ever" following a rapid separation from Netflix

The creators of Spry Fox, known for successful mobile games Alphabear and Triple Town, have announced their departure from Netflix. They shared insights about the revamped structure of their studio and details regarding the release of their next project, Spirit Crossing.

Last month, Game File broke the news that Netflix was divesting Spry Fox, which it had purchased in 2022, as part of its strategic shift in gaming. Previously, Netflix had also closed its budding AAA studio and halted several projects by third-party developers.

David Edery, Spry Fox's founder, announced on the company's website that they had separated from Netflix. Approximately 50 people are currently involved in crafting Spirit Crossing, a cozy multiplayer life simulation game. This team includes full-timers and some part-time contractors or collaborating studios. Despite its ambitious scale, Edery described the team as relatively small, noting that similar projects typically require double or even quadruple the workforce.

Edery mentioned significant financial sacrifices, with he and co-founder Dan Cook reducing their salaries to $20,000 annually and investing their own money to reclaim the studio. Additionally, they've decided to allocate most of the company’s equity to the studio employees to exemplify fairness in an industry where executives commonly earn disproportionately higher salaries and equity stakes.

Exiting Netflix occurred swiftly, taking only three months from the initial idea to re-attaining independence, a process typically lasting six to nine months, according to Edery. "We’ve been sprinting to disentangle ourselves. It has been a LOT of work."

"For the past three years, the game industry has been such a bleak place. Countless companies have shut down, including some truly great studios that made history-changing games."

Despite these challenges, Edery expressed gratitude, highlighting that while the gaming industry has faced numerous closures and hardships, their development offers a beacon of hope during tough times.

Spirit Crossing will initially be available as a complementary mobile game for Netflix subscribers, with plans for expansion to Steam planned for a spring beta and a full launch slated for 2026, along with possible releases on other platforms.

This divestment by Netflix marks another step back from its earlier gaming projects. Concerns are rising within the industry as Netflix's potential purchase of Warner Bros could result in substantial reductions within Warner's gaming division. As Netflix pivots towards mass-market gaming, its strategy now includes developing social gaming experiences akin to Fortnite and offering games aimed at children, focusing heavily on familiar IP and balancing discoverability with parental controls, as stated by Lisa Burgess, GM of Netflix Games (Kids), in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz.