Netflix is pulling interactive titles from its platform
Netflix's interactive titles were all the rage a few years ago, but the company is set to remove most of them from its platform.
First reported by The Verge, Netflix's "Interactive Specials" will be cut by the company down to four titles: Black Mirror's groundbreaking 2018 choose-your-own-adventure film Bandersnatch, the Daniel Radcliffe-starring special of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kimmy vs. the Reverend, and two Bear Grylls titles, Ranveer vs. Wild and You vs. Wild. All of these titles, which offer multiple endings determined by plot choices made by the viewer, will remain on the platform.
But it's curtains for the rest of the catalogue after Dec. 1. That means the rest of Grylls' titles, Headspace's Unwind Your Mind (the show Headspace Guide To Meditation is staying), interactive quiz game Triviaverse, and a lot of kids' franchise titles like Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal, Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Hidden Adventure, Captain Underpants Epic Choice-o-Rama, Spirit Riding Free: Ride Along Adventure, Johnny Test's Ultimate Meatloaf Quest, and more will be unavailable to play.
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Notably, the first ever interactive game Netflix launched seven years ago in 2017, Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale, will also be removed. At the time, Netflix's press release for the title read:
We’ve done extensive research and talked to lots of kids and parents, collecting qualitative data to better understand if this is something viewers will like. While we’ve gotten positive feedback (for example, parents like the fact their child has the ability to make decisions and take a seat in the director’s chair, if you will), we're eager to learn how our members will engage with the experience.
Netflix spokesperson Chrissy Kelleher told The Verge, "The technology served its purpose, but is now limiting as we focus on technological efforts in other areas."
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
