Spry Fox co-founder on the realities of independence after split from Netflix
Triple Town and Cosy Grove developer Spry Fox has shed some light on what it means to return to the world of independent development after parting ways with former owner Netflix Games in December 2025.
Spry Fox joined Netflix in 2022 but was sold back to co-founders Daniel Cook and David Edery last year. The studio's upcoming title, Spirit Crossing, remains in development after the move and will still be published by Netflix.
What, though, goes into buying back an established studio from a sprawling conglomerate? In a new blog post, Edery described the move as a "big bet" and said the team had to make some sacrifices in order to regain their independence.
"All of us are taking large pay cuts. Daniel and I have reduced our salaries to $20,000/year, and we've spent our own cash to buy the studio back,' he explained.
"And we are taking all the equity in the new company and giving the majority of it to the rest of the studios employees. In a world where executives tend to make 10x the salaries that employees do, and have 100x the equity, we want Spry Fox to be an example of something fairer and hopefully much better."
Edery explained the spinout from Netflix came together in around three months, which he described as "extremely fast."
"To put this in perspective, a spinout of this magnitude would typically take 6 to 9 months. So weve been sprinting to disentangle ourselves. It has been a LOT of work," he added.
"Those headaches aside, we are so thankful. For the past three years, the game industry has been such a bleak place. Countless companies have shut down, including some truly great studios that made history-changing games. I am very grateful that during this otherwise dark time, something this surprising and hopeful could happen for us."
"There is nothing more meaningful that we could be putting our time into than this."Around 50 people are currently working on Spirit Crossing at the studio. The majority are full-time employees, but that number also includes part-time contractors and co-developers at partner studios.
Now that the studio is independent, its mission has shifted from launching Spirit Crossing exclusively on Netflix to bringing the title to a variety of platforms. That, naturally, will require more work.
"Our goal for 2026 is straightforward and very personal to us: launch a big, ambitious cozy game that brings people together, encourages kindness, and reduces loneliness in the world. A game literally about building a village together," said Edery.
"We know from extensive research that loneliness is massively harming people's health and happiness, and even causing premature death. So we believe there is nothing more meaningful that we could be putting our time into than this. On a personal note, I'd much rather give up my salary and the security of a big company job than be doing anything else right now."
The studio is targeting a public beta in spring 2026 (April - June) before a full launch later in the year. It also intends to continue supporting Cozy Grove: Spirit Camp and will bring the title to PC and consoles later this year.
