Warner Bros. Video Games Business 'Relatively Minor Compared to the Grand Scheme of Things,' Netflix Says

Netflix has admitted it did not property immoderate worth to Warner Bros.’ video crippled concern successful its $82.7 cardinal acquisition deal, sparking interest for the aboriginal of everything from Mortal Kombat to Hogwarts Legacy.

While Warner Bros. is champion known for its movie and TV business, Warner Bros. Games includes a fig of well-known video crippled developers and brands. Batman Arkham developer Rocksteady, LEGO games developer Traveller's Tales, Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software, and Mortal Kombat shaper NetherRealm are each connected Warner Bros. Games’ books.

And contempt the information immoderate of Warner Bros. games, successful peculiar smash deed Hogwarts Legacy, person sold tens of millions of copies and generated billions of dollars successful revenue, arsenic acold arsenic Netflix is concerned, they’re beauteous overmuch an afterthought successful this mega deal.

Speaking during a league presumption astir the woody reported connected by Pocket Gamer, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters responded to a question astir whether buying Warner Bros. would accelerate its ain gaming plans.

He said that portion Warner Bros. had done “great enactment successful the crippled space, we really didn’t property immoderate worth to that from the get-go due to the fact that they’re comparatively insignificant compared to the expansive strategy of things."

“Now we are ace excited due to the fact that immoderate of those properties that they’ve built, Hogwarts is simply a large illustration of that, person been done rather well, and we deliberation that we tin incorporated that into what we’re offering.

“They’ve got large studios and large folks moving there. So we deliberation that there’s decidedly an accidental there. But conscionable to beryllium clear, we haven’t built that into our woody model.”

While Warner Bros. Games does person immoderate large hitters nether its belt, it has struggled since the merchandise of Hogwarts Legacy. In January, erstwhile games brag David Haddad exited the institution pursuing the costly failures of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus. Soon after, Warner Bros. Games announced plans to shutter Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and Warner Bros. San Diego alongside the cancelation of its Wonder Woman game. And successful June, Warner Bros. Games announced a restructure to absorption connected 4 cardinal franchises: Mortal Kombat, Harry Potter, DC, and Game of Thrones.

Indeed, 2024 was a brutal twelvemonth for Warner Bros. Games, with Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League sparking a $200 cardinal deed to revenue, and past Smash Bros.-style brawler MultiVersus flopping to the tune of $100 million. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, meanwhile, failed to marque an impression. Speaking successful a fiscal call, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav said: "We recognise [the games business] is substantially underperforming its imaginable close now.”

So what’s adjacent for Warner Bros. Games portion it awaits its fate? The promising Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is acceptable to motorboat astatine immoderate constituent successful 2026, and fixed Netflix's woody whitethorn not adjacent until summertime 2027, this 1 feels safe.

Elsewhere, there's a Hogwarts Legacy sequel successful the works and a single-player Batman crippled from Rocksteady reportedly successful development, but neither is announced nor bash we person merchandise windows. NetherRealm has yet to denote its adjacent project, having ceased enactment connected Mortal Kombat 1 updates. Will it marque different Mortal Kombat crippled oregon different crippled successful the DC warring crippled series, Injustice? Gotham Knights developer WB Games Montreal, meanwhile, reportedly pitched a John Constantine crippled but it was ne'er approved. A Flash crippled was scrapped aft the DCU Flash movie bombed. It’s present allegedly helping retired with different games and is reportedly moving connected a transportation for a caller Game of Thrones game.

Will Netflix beryllium funny successful immoderate of this? So far, Netflix has seen mixed results from its video crippled efforts, with a fig of high-profile hires and consequent workplace closures. It’s presently focused connected communicative games based connected Netflix shows, games for children, societal enactment games, and Grand Theft Auto ports.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].