While Netflix pursues a monumental acquisition of certain Warner Bros. Discovery assets, the streaming giant has secured another key piece for its internal gaming strategy: the purchase of Estonian startup Ready Player Me.
Netflix has paid an undisclosed sum for the Estonia-based company, which specializes in developing technology that allows digital gaming avatars and assets to be compatible across numerous disparate video game titles and virtual environments.
“Our vision has always been to enable avatars and identities to travel across many games and virtual worlds. We`ve been on an independent path to make that vision a reality for a long time. I`m now very excited for the Ready Player Me team to join Netflix to scale our tech and expertise to a global audience and contribute to the exciting vision Netflix has for gaming,” said CEO Timmu Tõke.
Netflix confirmed that the entire 20-person Ready Player Me team will transition to Netflix, though only one executive, CTO Rainer Selvet, is confirmed to be shifting to the streaming service`s management. Crucial operational questions persist, including the timeline for implementing these avatars into Netflix`s platform and which specific titles will support them.
Following the acquisition, Ready Player Me announced it would decommission its independent services, including the proprietary avatar-maker tool, PlayerZero, effective January 31, 2026.
Ready Player Me`s core business involves providing development tools to help developers overcome the technical challenges posed by varying game engines, devices, and artistic styles, thus facilitating avatar interoperability. Major industry clients previously included companies such as Ubisoft, Lenovo, and Nvidia.
Netflix has consistently characterized its investments in gaming as exploratory. This cautious approach has seen volatility, notably the scaling back of AAA game development ambitions in favor of emphasizing mobile and party-focused games. Despite this rocky road, the company pledged in July to “ramp up” its ongoing efforts in the sector.
This gaming acquisition occurs amidst Netflix`s complex bid to acquire significant entertainment and gaming assets from Warner Bros. Discovery. This deal faces direct competition from rival Paramount, which has presented shareholders with a higher-value, full-company buyout proposal, challenging Netflix’s partial acquisition strategy.