Refactor Games, the studio responsible for Netflix's FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition, has laid off 85% of its workforce. The news was confirmed by studio head Nathan Burba to GamesBeat, with an Inside Gaming report suggesting that publisher Delphi Interactive withdrew funding from the studio. This account aligns with a LinkedIn post by Barclay Chantel, a former art director at Refactor Games, who stated that Delphi "pulled the plug" on the studio immediately after the FIFA World Cup game's release.
Prior to its work on the Netflix title, Refactor Games developed Football Simulator, a Steam Early Access game focused on American football. Despite a positive user review consensus on SteamDB, the game saw low concurrent player counts, peaking at 188 players in January 2025 and reaching a maximum of 10 players in the 24 hours prior to this report.
In contrast, FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition achieved 1.5 million players in its first week, according to Game File, and was highlighted in Netflix's Q2 2026 fiscal report as one of its most successful cloud game debuts. However, critical reception was largely negative, with Aftermath describing it as a "modern hellscape."
The release of FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition marked the first FIFA-branded video game since the organization's split with longtime publisher EA Sports. The game faced considerable skepticism regarding its ability to replicate the success of previous FIFA titles developed by EA, a skepticism that appears to have been validated.