Carrie Patel, who served as game director on this year’s acclaimed fantasy action-RPG Avowed, has confirmed her departure from Obsidian Entertainment after nearly 12 years with the studio and announced a new role at Netflix.
Patel, who was very much the face of Avowed throughout its development, shared the news in a brief update on LinkedIn, revealing she’s now working within Netflix’s gaming division, having joined Oxenfree developer Night School Studio as a game director.
She offered no further clue as to what she’ll be working on at Night School in her update, but the Oxenfree and Afterparty studio has an impressive track record, despite its limited output since being acquired by Netflix in 2021. It released Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals in 2023 but nothing else until Black Mirror tie-in Thronglets arrived earlier this year – a release that followed an unspecified number of layoffs at Night School in March.
Netflix’s gaming strategy has taken some dramatic shifts in direction since the streaming service’s first tentative steps back in 2021. After an initial focus on mobile titles, it seemed ready to stride into the world of AAA console gaming in 2023, even hitting up longtime Halo creative lead Joseph Staten, Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sonny, and God of War art director Rafael Grassetti to found a new development team.
However, Netflix quietly closed the studio late last year, and is reportedly now focusing on narrative and transmedia projects, on big mainstream IP, on being a trusted destination for families, and on party games played on TVs using mobile phones as a controller. That does, of course, still leave room for Night Studio – and Patel – to continue making the kind of games it does best.
As for Avowed, prior to Patel’s departure from Obsidian, she suggested it wasn’t a one-and-done effort. “Now that we’ve built this wonderful world, and also built this team strength and muscle memory around the content and gameplay in this world,” she explained, “I’d love to see us do more with it.” Next up for Obsidian, though, is The Outer Worlds 2. It’s due later this year, with a special developer deep dive set to air on 8th June following the Xbox Games Showcase.
