“Netflix has admitted that it doesn't place any value on Warner Bros.” video game business in an $82.7 billion acquisition deal that has raised concerns about the future of everything from Mortal Kombat to Hogwarts Legacy.
While Warner Bros. best known for its film and television business, Warner Bros. Games includes a number of well-known video game developers and brands. Batman Arkham developer Rocksteady, LEGO game developer Traveller's Tales, Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software and Mortal Kombat producer NetherRealm are all part of Warner Bros. Games.
And while some Warner Bros. titles, notably the hit Hogwarts Legacy, have sold tens of millions of copies and generated billions of dollars in revenue, for Netflix they're largely an afterthought in the megadeal.
Speaking during a conference presentation on the deal reported Pocket GamerNetflix co-CEO Greg Peters responded to a question about whether the Warner Bros. acquisition would speed up the deal. her own game plans.
He said that although Warner Bros. have done “a lot of work in the game space, we didn't really give it any value to begin with because they're relatively minor compared to the grand scheme of things.”
“Now we're very excited because some of the things they've built, Hogwarts is a great example of this, have been done quite well and we think we can incorporate that into what we're offering.
“They have great studios and great people there. So we think there's definitely opportunity here. But to be clear, we haven't built that into our deal model.”
Although Warner Bros. Games has some big players and has struggled since the release of Hogwarts Legacy. In January, previous game director David Haddad left the company after the costly failures of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus. Soon after, Warner Bros. Games announced plans to close Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. San Diego and also Wonder Woman game canceled. And in June, Warner Bros. Games announced a restructuring focusing on four key franchises: Mortal Kombat, Harry Potter, DC and Game of Thrones.
Indeed, 2024 has been a brutal year for Warner Bros. Games: Rocksteady's “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League” led to a $200 million decline in revenue, and then MultiVersus brawl in the style of Smash Bros. flopped on a $100 million budget. Harry Potter: Quidditch ChampionsMeanwhile, failed to make an impression. Speaking during the financial call, Warner Bros. President and CEO. Discovery David Zaslav said: “We recognize [the games business] is now significantly behind its potential.”
So what's next for Warner Bros. Games while she awaits her fate? Perspective Lego Batman: The Dark Knight Legacy is set to launch at some point in 2026, and given that the Netflix deal may not close until summer 2027, this film seems safe.
Elsewhere, a Hogwarts Legacy sequel is in development, as well as a reportedly single-player Batman game from Rocksteady, but it hasn't been announced and we don't have a release window. NetherRealm has not yet announced its next project, having stopped working on updates to Mortal Kombat 1. Will it be another Mortal Kombat game or another game in the DC Injustice fighting game series? Meanwhile, Gotham Knights developer WB Games Montreal reportedly pitched a John Constantine game, but it was never greenlit. The Flash game was canceled after the DCU Flash movie blew up. He's now allegedly helping with other games and is reportedly working on pitching a new Game of Thrones game.
Will Netflix be interested in all of this? Netflix has seen mixed results from its video game efforts so far, with a number of high-profile hires and subsequent studio closures. The company is currently focused on narrative games based on Netflix shows, games for children, social party games, and ports of Grand Theft Auto.
Wesley is IGN's News Director. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
