Estonia’s startup scene saw a high-profile exit, with Netflix moving to strengthen its push into interactive entertainment. The US streaming group has confirmed the acquisition of Ready Player Me, an Estonian-built platform best known for its cross-game digital avatar technology, Estonia’s investment promotion agency, Invest in Estonia, said on its website. 

The purchase underlines Netflix’s intention to move beyond mobile gaming and into more immersive, screen-based experiences designed for televisions. Around 20 members of the Ready Player Me team will transfer into Netflix’s games unit. Financial details have not been made public, but the deal provides an exit for investors who had poured some $72mn into the company, among them Andreessen Horowitz, Plural, Endeavor and Konvoy Ventures, as well as angel backers linked to Roblox, Twitch and King Games.

Ready Player Me uses experimental body-scanning hardware and avatar software and allows users to build a single digital avatar that can be used across multiple games and virtual environments, an approach that gained momentum during the surge of interest in the metaverse and Web3 gaming.

Following the acquisition, only chief technology officer Rainer Selvet will remain with the project inside Netflix. Ready Player Me’s independent services, including its PlayerZero avatar creation tool, are scheduled to close on January 31, 2026.