Netflix, Inc.
Acquisitions
6
Major Deals Covered
$72M
Disclosed Deal Value
Netflix's largest disclosed acquisition here is Next Games for $72.3M in 2022. This page covers 6 major deals from 2017 to 2022, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millarworld | 2017 | Undisclosed | Netflix acquired Mark Millar's comic book publishing house, Millarworld, in a strategic bid to gain outright ownership of character-rich intellectual property and expand into franchise-driven storytelling. The deal was Netflix's first corporate acquisition, moving the company from licensing third-party studio IP to owning character universes. |
| Night School Studio | 2021 | Undisclosed | Netflix acquired Night School Studio, the developer behind Oxenfree, to add narrative-game development capability to its mobile gaming offering. |
| Next Games | 2022 | $72.3M | Netflix acquired Finland-based Next Games to strengthen mobile-game development, including experience with titles connected to entertainment franchises such as Stranger Things. |
| Boss Fight Entertainment | 2022 | Undisclosed | Netflix acquired Allen, Texas-based Boss Fight Entertainment to expand domestic game-development capacity for casual and accessible mobile titles. |
| Spry Fox | 2022 | Undisclosed | Netflix acquired Spry Fox, known for games like Cozy Grove, to broaden its catalog with non-violent and cozy games. |
| Animal Logic | 2022 | Undisclosed | Netflix acquired Sydney-based animation and visual effects studio Animal Logic to scale full-length animated feature production. |
2022
$72M
Netflix acquired Finland-based Next Games to strengthen mobile-game development, including experience with titles connected to entertainment franchises such as Stranger Things.
Next Games brought mobile development talent and operational experience in free-to-play-style engagement to Netflix's internal studio network.
Next Games continues building mobile games integrated with Netflix franchise intellectual property.
2022
Netflix acquired Allen, Texas-based Boss Fight Entertainment to expand domestic game-development capacity for casual and accessible mobile titles.
Provided internal production capacity to release varied mobile titles without third-party licensing dependencies.
Boss Fight operates as an internal studio supporting Netflix's ad-free mobile gaming catalog.
2022
Netflix acquired Spry Fox, known for games like Cozy Grove, to broaden its catalog with non-violent and cozy games.
Diversified the gaming portfolio into casual simulation and puzzle categories.
Spry Fox contributed cozy titles to Netflix's subscriber catalog before Netflix restructured internal gaming studios.
2022
Netflix acquired Sydney-based animation and visual effects studio Animal Logic to scale full-length animated feature production.
Added animation talent and technical infrastructure to accelerate Netflix's in-house animated film slate.
Animal Logic operates as an end-to-end animation production facility producing features exclusively for Netflix.
2021
Netflix acquired Night School Studio, the developer behind Oxenfree, to add narrative-game development capability to its mobile gaming offering.
The acquisition gave Netflix its first in-house video game studio, establishing that narrative games would be bundled into standard subscriptions without ads or in-app purchases.
Night School Studio released Oxenfree II: Lost Signals across multiple platforms under Netflix Games.
2017
Netflix acquired Mark Millar's comic book publishing house, Millarworld, in a strategic bid to gain outright ownership of character-rich intellectual property and expand into franchise-driven storytelling. The deal was Netflix's first corporate acquisition, moving the company from licensing third-party studio IP to owning character universes.
The deal signaled Netflix's evolution into an IP-owning studio. It changed financial modeling from fixed-term licensing to indefinite asset ownership.
Millarworld projects including Jupiter's Legacy were released on the platform, providing long-term comic book and graphic novel IP optionality for future adaptations.
Netflix's growth plan for 2026 rests on four levers: price increases backed by engagement, a larger in-house ad business, live programming such as WWE Raw (which moved to Netflix in January 2025 under a reported 10-year deal) and NFL Christmas Day games, and a broader catalog that includes games and video podcasts. Management guided to 13%-14% revenue growth in 2026 with content expense up about 10%. A large acquisition was also tested: in December 2025 Netflix agreed to buy Warner Bros.' studios and HBO Max, but walked away in February 2026 when Warner Bros. Discovery accepted Paramount Skydance's superior offer, and Netflix collected a $2.8B termination fee.
Netflix makes money mainly from monthly membership fees for its streaming service, sold in tiers that range from Standard with Ads to the ad-free Standard and Premium plans, with extra-member fees for people outside a household. Advertising is the second, smaller stream: it passed $1.5B in 2025 and management expects it to roughly double in 2026. Content is the main cost. Netflix pays to license or produce films and series, amortizes that spending over time, and spreads it across a global membership base, which is why higher prices and a larger base flow through to margin.
In August 2017, Netflix completed its first-ever corporate acquisition by purchasing comic book publisher Millarworld, founded by well-known graphic novel creator Mark Millar (creator of 'Kingsman' and 'Kick-Ass'), securing comic character IP for original superhero films and series.
In September 2021, Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company for an estimated £500 million ($686M USD), securing the exclusive global rights to create an expansive animated and live-action universe based on beloved classics like 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'Matilda', and 'The BFG'.
To accelerate its mobile and cross-platform gaming ecosystem, Netflix acquired critically acclaimed independent game development studios including Night School Studio (creators of 'Oxenfree', 2021), Next Games (2022), Boss Fight Entertainment (2022), and Spry Fox (2022).
In July 2022, Netflix acquired Australian visual effects and animation studio Animal Logic (acclaimed for 'Happy Feet' and 'The Lego Movie') to strengthen its in-house end-to-end animated feature film production pipeline.
In 2019, Netflix acquired StoryBots, the Emmy-winning children's educational franchise founded by Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, expanding its preschool content library with interactive animated learning series.
In 2020, Netflix acquired the historic Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, meticulously restoring the well-known 1922 movie palace to host red-carpet Hollywood premieres, filmmaker screenings, and cinematic retrospectives.
In 2018, Netflix purchased Albuquerque Studios in New Mexico, investing hundreds of millions of dollars to expand it into one of North America's largest integrated film and television production complexes with multiple sound stages.
Netflix avoids debt-heavy mega-conglomerate mergers, choosing instead targeted 'tuck-in' acquisitions of proprietary intellectual property catalogs (Roald Dahl, Millarworld), specialized gaming studios, and production infrastructure.
In September 2021, Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company for $686 million, gaining full rights to iconic children's literary classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and The BFG. The acquisition enables Netflix to create an expansive animated and live-action cinematic universe.
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