Netflix, Paramount & Warner. How the future looks like for 3D Artists?

The animation and entertainment industries are once again at an inflection point: Recent reports that both Netflix and Paramount are making agresive moves to acquire Warner Bros have sent a clear signal through Hollywood, consolidation is accelerating, and streaming platforms are no longer content distributors alone. They are becoming commissioners of large-scale productions, and central hubs in the global content pipeline.

For many, this kind of news sparks anxiety, but for the 3D animation artists that actually understand how streaming platforms produce animated feature films, the picture looks very different. And while some studios and artists think this shift means fewer opportunities — it points to a more structured, more global, and more partner-driven production landscape.

Netflix’s and Paramount's animation model is often misunderstood. Despite their size, they do not operate as traditional animation studios with massive in-house teams. Instead, they act as producers and creative overseers. The heavy lifting of production is handled by experienced lead studios, which design the pipeline, supervise the vision, and manage delivery. From there, work is distributed across a network of smaller partner studios around the world.

This outsourcing model is deliberate. Film production is broken down into smaller components (assets, shots, sequences, departments) and assigned based on specialization, and efficiency. High-volume execution is distributed globally, while creative direction, and final decision-making remain tightly controlled. The result is a production system built for flexibility and speed, without sacrificing quality.

As these platforms expand their catalog and potentially absorb legacy studios and IP, this approach becomes even more essential. More content means tighter timelines, standardized pipelines and a growing reliance on external studios that can integrate in them. In this environment, outsourcing increases, and thus, reliability becomes invaluable.

This is where the market shift becomes clear. The industry is moving away from centralized production models and towards distributed collaboration. Long-term roles are becoming rarer, while project-based partnerships are becoming the norm. For artists and studios that are prepared, this does not represent instability — it represents sustained demand.

What production partners are looking for is not just capacity, but competence. Studios are expected to understand modern pipelines, work within USD-based workflows, communicate clearly with supervisors and production teams, and deliver consistent results. In the past, the ability to scale quickly without compromising quality was a luxury, nowadays is a basic expectation.

This is precisely the environment R-25 was built for. Our focus has never been on operating in isolation, but on integrating into larger ecosystems. We are structured to support department-level outsourcing, sequence work, and shot production with senior oversight at every stage. At R-25, efficiency and craftsmanship reinforce each other.

We do not see industry consolidation as a disruption. We see it as confirmation that the future of animation lies in the strong partnerships we have built, the fluency, and our ready teams. As platforms like Netflix and Paramount reshape how animated films are made, studios like us, that understand the system (and are already aligned with it), will be the ones that thrive.

The next era of 3D animation isn’t about being the biggest studio in the room or the most connected artist in the industry. It’s about being prepared, dependable, and ready to plug into what’s coming next. And that’s exactly where R-25 stand.