Key Highlights:
- Warner Bros. is set to be acquired by Netflix, as per a recent statement.
- The bid has been set for around $82.7 billion.
- The move will most certainly affect WB’s game studios, but not in a direct way.
In a rather unfortunate series of events, Warner Bros found itself up for sale amidst declining performance from its IPs and general disinterest from fans and newcomers alike. The company went into talks about a buyout, and recent rumors peg Netflix as being the buyer.
If this deal goes through, Netflix could own a bunch of IPs from Warner Bros., including but not limited to its films, streaming businesses and of course, video games.
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s take a dive into how the Netflix deal could affect WB Games and its subsidiaries.
Netflix Acquires Warner Bros. Acquisition Bid for $82.7 Billion
Netflix confirmed today that it was in direct talks with Warner Bros. to acquire them wholly, including their film and TV series sections (which happen to include HBO and HBO Max). The bid stands at around $82.7 billion, set to completed by the end of Q3 2026.
Netflix also remains committed to releasing movies from existing Warner Bros. IPs and streamlining all subscription services into one platform. This also affects multiple other IPs, but there has not been any mention of Warner Bros. video game divisions.
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This includes Rocksteady Studios (known for the Batman Arkham series), WB Games (makers of Arkham Origins and the Shadow of Mordor series) and NetherRealm Studios (makers of the Mortal Kombat series).
While nothing is set in stone just yet, there might be news of a revamp to these studios later down the line (as the bid closes), so all we can do is speculate.
What This Means for Warner Bros. Games’ Studios
In a nutshell, not a whole lot. While there will most certainly be a few changes across the board, these should be minimal and shouldn’t really affect the gaming wing all that much at all.
What could be likely though, is the integration of Netflix’s own gaming services with existing WB game IPs. Given how much Netflix is pushing for mobile gaming experiences, we could very likely be seeing a few older AAA titles being released for mobile devices on Android and iOS.
As far as studios such as NetherRealm and Rocksteady are concerned, there is not really a whole lot to talk about here. Both studios should remain relatively detached from the whole affair (or so it is hoped), maintaining some degree of creative freedom post acquisition.
More for NetherRealm in this case, over Rocksteady who has already been in troubled waters.
There is a silver lining though. With fresh funds injected from Netflix (in what appears to be a historic, multi billion dollar deal), we could see this trickle its way down over to the gaming divisions.
In other words, we could have a restoration phase, as more projects get approved (and pending ones get past their approval phases), resulting in more games being released.
While quality always remains a concern, gaming really shouldn’t be affected by this deal at all. Priorities will most certainly change (with Netflix’s push toward mobile ports of existing titles), but game production should ramp up over time, and this might be a good thing overall.
That being said, there’s always the possibility of something going horribly wrong in the process, and the future is always uncertain. We will have to wait and see how it all pans out.
