Warner Bros’ gaming division is more exciting than it’s ever been, with Mortal Kombat at its strongest, a long-awaited Harry Potter game on the horizon, and an unannounced project from Rocksteady in the works. But it seems that parent company AT&T is eager to get out of the business, and has put the publisher up for sale with a valuation of $4 billion.
According to a report by CNBC, rivals such as Take Two, Electronic Arts, and Activision Blizzard have all expressed interest in an acquisition, but no deal is imminent. Some of the studios under the organisation’s umbrella include NetherRealm, TT Games, Avalanche Software, and the aforementioned Rocksteady.
Presumably any in-progress projects will remain unaffected for the time being, but given that many of the publisher’s titles are based upon licensed properties, a takeover could cause headaches in the future. Apparently, AT&T is floating the idea of a commercial licensing agreement, which would allow it to continue to earn revenue off properties like Lord of the Rings.
[source cnbc.com]
Comments 32
Bit concerning really. WB Games' biggest games are based on Warner Bros properties, so... Why would anyone buy the publisher without access to the IP?
It's a lot of money to spend only to end up giving Warner Bros more money in licensing fees.
Hmm, 4 billion.. looks good but I think I'll wait on a discount.
I was expecting Rocksteady's DC game for PS5 reveal yesterday, They are working on it for a long ass time now
Isn't that what disney paid for Lucasfilm??? It really doesn't seem like a good deal. And again, it was the price of Mojang
God... i really don't want any of those 3 publishers to buy it.
WB has been a terribly greedy publisher, so i won't shed a tear for them.
Really does look like a bad deal, but i could see Microsoft opening their wallet. But, i hope they don't.
@Rhaoulos I doubt anyone will pay that much, it's just the starting price I guess.
For that price? Oh heck yeah let's all save some bucks and buy it together
Hey Microsoft....put your wallet down!
More things for EA to gobble up and ruin.
I have $23 in my change jar. Take it or leave it.
Push Square GoFundMe where we all chip in £10? How many members do we have?
@Cutmastavictory I bloody hope not.
I like the idea of Sony owning Rocksteady
@Crimson_Ridley Less than 320,000,000 members I think. xD
If we all chip in $5 maybe we can get the ball rolling and eventually have enough so that WB games becomes a Push Square property? 🤔
Anyone want to go 2's on this?
Also, WB are an awful publisher, but this can't end well selling to anyone else.
Its alot of money, but access to Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and DC could be worth much more over time i guess?
@Constable_What Even after the PS5 showcase? Damn, we've got some work to do. You draw up some posters to entice people to the site, I'll do some door knocking and explain the cause. We've got this!
Maybe Disney should buy it then we can have a Marvel Vs DC fighting game.
Just as long bloody MS don't buy it.
@AdamNovice Sony gets Spider and Street Fighter,
MS gets Batman and MK.
I'll wait for it to come on PS Plus 😉
@nookie_egg There's a difference between temporary licencing to outright ownership.
@Rob_230 They still have to pay for those IPs, because WB owns it not WB games
Without the IP quite frankly the business is nowhere near $4bn given its liabilities if you look at its financial records for the past few years. Hell, even with the IPs you'd still struggle justify that sort of price. I can understand WB wanting to move into licensing again, but expecting to sell your business at an inflated price, and then charge for the use of the only valuable asset the business has on top of that? Whoever takes that deal is mad.
THQ Nordic is mad enough to buy it, even without the IP
DC will probably be next, I heard a rumour (from the local LCS) that at&t don't really care for its comic division
If EA, Activision and Take Two are the only ones that can afford it... I would rather it get acquired by Microsoft or Sony and go console exclusive with their games... because all those 3 companies would destroy the work WB has done.
MS tossed 2.5 billion at Minecraft alone... they could throw a bit extra and get so much more... not sure Sony would have that investment capital.
@Royalblues I don’t usually cheer for multi plat IPs going exclusive like that, but MS has actually committed themselves to keeping some of their IPs cross-platform. Look at Minecraft, one of the biggest sellers ever. They still sell it for PS and Switch.
NetherRealm under Activision would be awful. More microtransactions, battle passes, Captain Price vs Stryker aaaaahhhhhhhhh
@GKO900 THQ nordic buys smart and cheap. This is way more than they can chew. Though, i wouldnt mind that outcome.
@Tharsman Same here, hoping Sony will outright buy WB Gaming, but still sometimes share games with Xbox and Switch.
Tap here to load 32 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...