Netflix has teamed up with Indiana-based animation studio Barrier Four to create playable experiences based on two of its marquee content offerings—family-friendly feature film Spellbound and four-quadrant action-comedy series Cobra Kai. 

First up in this new initiative is the recreation of a big second-act song from Skydance Animation’s Spellbound, which premiered theatrically and started streaming simultaneously on November 22. Now available in Nextworld (Netflix’s central hub game on Roblox), the Spellbound event shows a movie clip featuring the singing and dancing Flinks (pictured) in a parade, plus a recreation of the same scene animated in Roblox’s art style. The two sequences play in a picture-in-picture format, with the Roblox version on the main screen. And then users can enter the recreated scene as avatars to play a musical rhythm game and win free user-generated content featuring characters from the film. 

In a few weeks, Barrier Four will release a similar experience for Cobra Kai that lets kids drop into a recreated fight scene from the show to try out some martial art moves themselves. 

Netflix Nextworld in Roblox, which has gotten 4.7 million visits. Screenshot courtesy of Ryan Tuchow.

Since opening on Roblox last November, Nextworld has racked up 4.7 million visits from fans looking to explore worlds and meet characters from Netflix original series and films such as Stranger Things, Wednesday, One Piece and Rebel Moon. But this partnership with Barrier Four marks the first time the game has offered a fully immersive experience. 

Barrier Four is touting its ability to make playable moments from TV series and movies as a new precedent for brand engagement. The studio previously worked with Nickelodeon and Spin Master on Roblox-style recreations of scenes from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (June 2024), SpongeBob SquarePants (2022) and Bakugan Battle League for YouTube, but none of these projects featured its latest player immersion innovation.

“Spellbound and Cobra Kai are just the tip of the iceberg and a baseline for what is possible,” Nate Spell, founder and CEO of Barrier Four tells Kidscreen. “The potential [is there] for more immersive and complex gameplay putting you inside the action. Full shows or movies spread across a network of experiences, and the endless IP that can use something like this to connect with their audience on a deeper level.”

Barrier Four is looking to bring other kids brands onto Roblox in this immersive way, says Spell.

Barrier Four’s picture-in-picture recreation of Spellbound in Roblox. Courtesy of Barrier Four/Netflix.

Updated November 29 with quotes from Nate Spell.