AT&T, you may recall, put Warner Bros Games up for sale as it attempts to clear some long-standing debt. The organisation then put out a memo suggesting that studios like Rocksteady and NetherRealm were no longer up for sale, before online speculation suggested that the developers were in fact still available for $4 billion.
Now a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources says that the juggernaut’s gaming division will be staying put, as it considers the asset far too valuable to part with. Electronic Arts, Take Two, Activision, and, worryingly, Microsoft had all expressed interest in purchasing the business, but it never seemed like a particularly viable acquisition given that most of the studios are working with Warner Bros intellectual property.
As such, any potential suitors would not only have to stump up significant money to purchase the division, but would also have to pay royalties back to AT&T in order to continue using their licenses. Upcoming titles from Warner Bros Games include Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Gotham Knights, and an unannounced Harry Potter RPG.
Of course, the upside to this news is that there’ll be no disruption to the division, and it can get back to making great games for multiple platforms. Obviously an Xbox acquisition, as was touted at one time, would have potentially iced out PS5 releases for the abovementioned titles – and that’s not an outcome any of us want, is it?
[source bloomberg.com]
Comments 23
Microsoft can only buy mid-sized companies. No one in their right mind will make gaas for gamepass.
Good. Keeping their titles third party is best for everyone.
Shame that both Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad seem to be GaaS titles but maybe neither will be quite as devious as The Avengers. Here's hoping anyway!
@Col_McCafferty Gotham Knights is not a GAAS.
I'm glad that WB Games isn't owned by anyone, as I didn't really get why AT&T wanted to sell them besides just debt.
@flawless 90% of games on Game Pass aren’t GaaS. Imagine being against value for customers.
@nessisonett
Bleeding Edge
Grounded
Sea of Thieves
@flawless Oh man wow, you named 3 games that are GaaS. So by my calculations, if they make up 90% of all games on Game Pass then that means there are a grand total of 3 1/3 games on the entire service.
@DonJorginho Hmm, time will tell. Hopefully not although it doesn't seem to be the bonafide sp gaming experience I was personally expecting it to be.
@Col_McCafferty
The developers explicitly stated that it is not a GaaS. There will likely be DLC (much like each of the previous Batman/Arkham games) AND the entire game can be played solo. No co-op is required anywhere in the game.
It definitely WILL be a different experience the n the Arkham games. It's supposed to be a different experience. Whether you prefer that or not is personal. (For me I prefer the single protagonist focused single player style of the Arkham games). So it will not be that. BUT, it sounds more like and RPG lite with 4 different potential characters. You can mix and match as you please - or not at all. I love this idea. I'm going to play through 4 times, once with each character and then a 5th with whomever I liked best in New Game +, presuming there is one.
@nessisonett I have to say going forward given the astronomical losses Microsoft are making on Game Pass (the business model really doesn't stack up) something will have to give. When you hear Halo Infinite has already cost Microsoft $500m, it doesn't take a genius to figure out there's no way to recoup that development budget via game pass as it currently is, and that will shift developers to developing heavily monetized / GaaS products. I think it's inevitable. That or the production values drop way, way down. Something has to give. So ultimately either Microsoft's games become cheap cash grabs, or egregious money sinks, I personally think that Game Pass will become a subscription service to play what used to be considered free to play games, with the odd worthwhile indie thrown in. The business model could be worthwhile if they weren't putting new games day and date release on the service, with quality games going forward that just isn't sustainable, and Microsoft's financial reports makes that abundantly clear. Were there games going to the service 18 to 24 months after launch, maybe it'd become a more sustainable option for business and developers, as it is I just can't see Microsoft share holders accepting billions and billions of dollars down the drain for very little market penetration and zero return.
As to WB Games won't sell or can't sell, take your pick, and my guess is no one was in the market for an over valued games publisher without any of its own IP.
@SirAngry As consumers, I hate this weird obsession with seeing companies ‘do well’ or something. Brand loyalty is nonsense. At this point, Game Pass is value for money so I use it. If there comes a point where it isn’t worth the money, I’ll cancel my subscription. No point second guessing or worrying about what might be.
@nessisonett I'm also a developer, who sees things like Game Pass as a threat to my livelihood, because you can bet your bottom dollar shareholders won't want a reduced cut, nope that'll come from crappier working conditions for people like me, and probably even less secure working contracts, but hey, as long as you guys get your games right? Except the games you'll be getting will eventually be the sort of experiences you'd have expected to be free to play.
@Kefka2589 Game Pass having lost $2.8bn so far is pretty significant. That's not including the loss Microsoft first party games have made as a result of being on Game Pass. Current estimate on that depending on who you talk to have Microsoft taking a $4bn loss or close to it on Game Pass. They talk about their 10m subscribers, but from Live data we think as an industry Microsoft and Xbox as brand's have roughly 15m diehard fans, which shouldn't be sniffed at, but you'd have to assume the majority of those 10m subscribers come from this pool. The real test will be how many more subscribers they can add, but the bigger the subscriber numbers, the bigger the fees developers and publishers will request, and that's the crux of the Game Pass model, in its current configuration it doesn't work long term.
@SirAngry And I’m also a software developer, albeit still in university. If Game Pass is a threat, just don’t release your game on it. Plenty games have succeeded outside of it, plenty games have succeeded due to it.
@nessisonett and you think Environment Artist 42 or Network Programmer 5 has any say in this stuff. Plus it will have an impact on the kinds of games we can design. The business environment always does, and for that reason alone, as a creative, Game Pass in its current form concerns me.
On a different tack are you looking to pursue a career in the industry?
@SirAngry I’m not necessarily looking at the games industry because like many have said, it’s not the nicest conditions. I have to find a paid internship by next year and have been looking at games companies and general software. I just wouldn’t want to go to a big corporate entity, my dealings with JP Morgan ensured that. If I could find a small enough studio with a great camaraderie and lack of internal politics, then sure.
@Kefka2589 it is an interesting one, because engagement with Gears 5 was literally at the franchise average, so it didn't increase engagement there, and you'd have to assume it didn't generate the sorts of revenue from Game Pass as it would say a full release, well, we don't have to guess, we can see from the financial results. Something has to give, that's just the way it is, short-term I say enjoy it while it lasts, long-term I don't think it remains in its current form unless there is a significant downgrade in content or massive price hike.
@nessisonett that would actually be my advice to you, find yourself a mid level studio, somewhere like Lucid if you're in the UK, small, good group of creatives at the top who've all lived through that corporate hell, and seem to be happy just providing their staff with work and ticking over, and who might every now and then get support from a publisher to do a pet project. I wouldn't want to put anyone off from joining the industry, because at times it can be supremely rewarding, just do your research on studios. If you ever want some advice just at me in the forum's and I'll try my best to help... actually Sony London Studios isn't a bad shout for an internship. They used to have a pretty good program a few years back.
@SirAngry Media Molecule’s looks insanely good to be honest. Paid for a whole year and in a studio with both creative license and backed by money. Their studio in Guildford is rather nice as well. Depending on certain events in November, I might see if I can get one in the States, it’s a once in a lifetime sorta deal anyway.
@nessisonett look at studios in Europe before the US. Some good places in Sweden.
@Col_McCafferty Avengers isn't that devious, Destiny 2 is far worse for instance and at least Avengers has quite a lot of content already in the game compared to Destiny 2 at launch or Anthem's bare bones package.
@WallyWest I'll have to take your word for it as I didn't play either of those two games.
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