Netflix has admitted it didn’t attribute any worth to Warner Bros.’ online game enterprise in its $82.7 billion acquisition deal, sparking concern for the future of all the pieces from Mortal Kombat to Hogwarts Legacy.
Whereas Warner Bros. is finest identified for its film and TV enterprise, Warner Bros. Games features a quantity of well-known online game builders and types. Batman Arkham developer Rocksteady, LEGO video games developer Traveller’s Tales, Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software program, and Mortal Kombat maker NetherRealm are all on Warner Bros. Games’ books.
And regardless of the truth some of Warner Bros. video games, specifically smash hit Hogwarts Legacy, have offered tens of tens of millions of copies and generated billions of {dollars} in income, so far as Netflix is worried, they’re just about an afterthought on this mega deal.
Talking throughout a convention presentation about the deal reported on by Pocket Gamer, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters responded to a query about whether or not shopping for Warner Bros. would speed up its personal gaming plans.
He mentioned that whereas Warner Bros. had executed “nice work in the sport house, we really didn’t attribute any worth to that from the get-go as a result of they’re comparatively minor in contrast to the grand scheme of issues.”
“Now we’re tremendous excited as a result of some of these properties that they’ve constructed, Hogwarts is a good instance of that, have been executed fairly properly, and we expect that we are able to incorporate that into what we’re providing.
“They’ve bought nice studios and nice of us working there. So we expect that there’s undoubtedly a chance there. However simply to be clear, we haven’t constructed that into our deal mannequin.”
Whereas Warner Bros. Games does have some huge hitters underneath its belt, it has struggled since the launch of Hogwarts Legacy. In January, earlier video games boss David Haddad exited the firm following the expensive failures of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus. Quickly after, Warner Bros. Games introduced plans to shutter Monolith Productions, Participant First Games, and Warner Bros. San Diego alongside the cancelation of its Surprise Lady sport. And in June, Warner Bros. Games introduced a restructure to give attention to 4 key franchises: Mortal Kombat, Harry Potter, DC, and Sport of Thrones.
Certainly, 2024 was a brutal yr for Warner Bros. Games, with Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League sparking a $200 million hit to income, after which Smash Bros.-style brawler MultiVersus flopping to the tune of $100 million. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, in the meantime, failed to make an impression. Talking in a monetary name, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav mentioned: “We recognise [the games business] is considerably underperforming its potential proper now.”
So what’s subsequent for Warner Bros. Games whereas it awaits its destiny? The promising Lego Batman: Legacy of the Darkish Knight is ready to launch sooner or later in 2026, and given Netflix’s deal could not shut till summer season 2027, this one feels protected.
Elsewhere, there is a Hogwarts Legacy sequel in the works and a single-player Batman sport from Rocksteady reportedly in growth, however neither is introduced nor do we have now launch home windows. NetherRealm has but to announce its subsequent venture, having ceased work on Mortal Kombat 1 updates. Will it make one other Mortal Kombat sport or one other sport in the DC preventing sport collection, Injustice? Gotham Knights developer WB Games Montreal, in the meantime, reportedly pitched a John Constantine sport but it surely was by no means accredited. A Flash sport was scrapped after the DCU Flash movie bombed. It’s now allegedly serving to out with different video games and is reportedly engaged on a pitch for a brand new Sport of Thrones sport.
Will Netflix be fascinated with any of this? Up to now, Netflix has seen blended outcomes from its online game efforts, with a quantity of high-profile hires and subsequent studio closures. It’s at the moment centered on narrative video games based mostly on Netflix exhibits, video games for kids, social celebration video games, and Grand Theft Auto ports.
Wesley is Director, Information at IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You’ll be able to attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.