Netflix is deepening its push into gaming and this time, it’s bringing customizable avatars along for the ride. The company has acquired Ready Player Me, a leading avatar platform known for its cross-game avatar tech, in a move aimed at enhancing user identity and continuity across its growing lineup of games. The news was first reported by The Verge.
The acquisition comes as Netflix continues to experiment with party-style TV games and interactive experiences on both mobile and television platforms. With Ready Player Me’s technology, Netflix intends to let players create digital personas that can persist across multiple titles, fostering a sense of identity and fandom that mirrors the broader entertainment landscape.
“Our vision has always been to enable avatars and identities to travel across many games and virtual worlds,” said Ready Player Me CEO Timmu Tõke. “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.”
While the company hasn’t provided a timeline for when the avatar feature will go live or which games will support it first, Netflix has confirmed that the full team of about 20 employees from Ready Player Me will be joining its ranks. As part of the transition, Ready Player Me’s current platform, used by thousands of developers, will be discontinued on January 31, 2026.
A New Era of Personalized Gaming on Netflix
This marks a major step for Netflix’s broader gaming ambitions. Recent titles like Netflix Stories and social party games have hinted at a future where user interaction and personalization are central to the experience. The addition of avatar functionality only underscores that direction.
No financial details of the acquisition have been disclosed. For now, fans and developers alike are waiting to see how Netflix will incorporate avatars into its evolving entertainment ecosystem and whether this signals the start of something much bigger.