Remember when choosing your own adventure on Netflix felt like the future of entertainment? Well, that future is about to get a lot smaller. Netflix has confirmed it will remove most of its interactive titles from its content library on December 1, marking the end of a bold experiment that began in 2017.
Of the platform’s 24 interactive titles, only four will remain: the mind-bending Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend, and two Bear Grylls survival adventures (Ranveer vs. Wild and You vs. Wild). The rest, including children’s favorites and quirky experiments, will be retired from the platform.
It will be a particularly poignant farewell for Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale, Netflix’s first venture into interactive storytelling. Launched in 2017, this swashbuckling cat’s adventure paved the way for what would become a fascinating, if ultimately limited, chapter in streaming innovation. Ironically, Puss’s tale had already quietly departed the service some time ago, foreshadowing the larger exodus to come.
The interactive format reached its cultural peak with 2018’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, which captured our imagination with its dark, twisting narratives and multiple endings. The special proved that interactive content could be more than just a gimmick by delivering a genuinely compelling narrative experience that had viewers debating their choices long after watching.
Netflix’s gaming chief Mike Verdu didn’t mince words about the decision, telling Game File that the company has stopped producing these experiences entirely. “The technology was very limiting and the potential for what we could do in that realm was kind of capped,” he explained. Netflix spokesperson Chrissy Kelleher echoed this sentiment, stating that while “the technology served its purpose,” the company is now focusing its technological efforts elsewhere.
While the streaming giant maintains a growing collection of mobile games (with a particular fondness for adapting its reality TV shows), its gaming ambitions have faced other setbacks, including the recent closure of its AAA game studio before it could release a single title.
For now, those who enjoyed testing their wit daily in Trivia Quest will have to find a new challenge away from the platform.
