PANews reported on December 20th that, according to TechinAsia, streaming giant Netflix announced its acquisition of Ready Player Me, a metaverse identity platform powered by a16z, aiming to further enhance the TV gaming experience. The specific acquisition amount and terms were not disclosed. Ready Player Me is scheduled to cease operations on January 31, 2026, and its team members will be fully integrated into Netflix. Ready Player Me previously received approximately $72 million in funding, with investors including prominent figures in the industry such as Roblox co-founder David Baszucki, Twitch co-founder Justin Kan, and GitHub co-founder Tom Preston-Werner.

