Earlier this week, Netflix announced a deal that would cost them a lot of money to acquire Warner Bros. That includes everything related to the company, including its gaming division, various high-profile studios like Rocksteady, Avalanche, TT Games, Netherrealm and more.
Unsurprisingly, many people assumed this was a good thing for their favorite franchises, as Netflix was eager to capitalize on its new game studios. Arkham fans became hopeful that Rocksteady would return to its roots, while a petition was even set up in an attempt to remove the patent on the Nemesis system.
Despite the plethora of new toys it could have at its disposal, it seems Netflix isn't particularly interested in any of them. In fact, the company doesn't seem to be that interested in the Warner Bros. gaming division.
Netflix is not interested in Warner Bros. gaming division
As shared by Pocket Gamer (thanks Kotaku), Netflix co-CEO Gregory Peters said on a recent call with investors that Warner Bros.'s gaming division is “relatively small in the grand scheme of things.” Peters claims the gaming side of Warner Bros. adds little to the company's $83 billion valuation.
Peters hints that he recognizes Warner Bros. has some very valuable gaming IP that's ripe for the picking, but it doesn't sound like big triple-A productions are in the cards for Netflix if a deal falls through.
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“Now we're very excited because of some of the properties they've built–Hogwarts This is a great example–has done a lot of good, and we think we can incorporate that into what we're offering.”
“They've got great studios and great people working there, so we think there's definitely an opportunity there. But to be clear, we haven't built that into our deal model.”
And honestly, who can blame Netflix for thinking that Warner Bros. games aren't worth much? We've seen Monolith shut down, and its Wonder Woman game get cancelled, while the games that have been released recently haven't exactly blown people away. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was a fairly high-profile flop, while Gotham Knights and Multiverse were both disappointing.
Hogwarts Legacy is Warner Bros.' only real success story when it comes to gaming lately, and while it's a huge success, Netflix would be more than happy to use the name instead of a full-scale production for a cheap mobile title that would cost millions to make. This could be the end of big games from Warner Bros., but only time will tell if that's the case.
- issued
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February 10, 2023
- ESRB
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T for Juvenile due to blood, fantasy violence, mild language, alcohol use
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4
- Cross-platform play
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Hogwarts Legacy does not have crossplay or crossplatform support
- Cross shave
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You can freely use your saved data between each console as long as you are connected to the Internet and signed in to the same account where the saved data was created.
