Netflix Says Warner Bros Games Doesn't Hold 'Any Value' in $82 Billion Acquisition

Saying that an investment containing Suicide Squad holds no value is like saying LOTR: Gollum is unplayable.

Doesn’t bode well for the developers that Netflix is basically like, “There’s a gaming division?”

Sooo they will be basically selling off all the IPs if this goes through.

If i work in those little divisions in that company , i'd start looking for a new place just in case .

Well yeah, the IPs Warner holds have more value than the gaming studios.

It is chump change in the grand scheme of things. Games aren't going to push the needle for Netflix and they'll likely (and correctly) be wanting to stick to the business they know. There's a lot of risk involved in bigger budget game titles - many of Warner Bros. recent releases being prime examples.

If they don’t wanna make games, can they at least relinquish the “Nemesis” IP (from Shadow of Mordor) so that other devs can make games w it?

The irony being that Netflix subscribers say the same about the games available on Netflix too

i wouldn't be surprised if the the deal goes through and Netflix sell the gaming division, especially WB idiocy with producing live service games , with little interest from gamers and said games bombing

@Czar_Khastik Gollum is a masterpiece. No other game made me laugh, cry, rage and feel regret like this. Truly an emotional rollercoaster.

So BATMAN and MORTAL ***** KOMBAT, don't factor in? How out of touch are these execs?! Hopefully someone helps them see the light.

@Bizzy Exactly. Makes 0% sense to simultaneously be pushing Netflix Games that nobody cares about and then turn around and say that WB Games aren’t of any value when it could be their first meaningful inroad into the gaming sector.

If they actually thought about it for even a second, it could be the perfect opportunity for them to turn their IPs (like Stranger Things) into companion games which will boost the IP, if done correctly. Considering WB handled Hogwarts Legacy it could be the perfect match.

@Simu001 best game ever lol

@illegalmonkey compared to the value of actual movie ip's under WB nope they are not out of touch they just have a different focus that isn't games

I would expect that if Netflix make this acquisition the gaming division will be the first thing to sold off to recoup costs and whatever is left will eventually closed down.

That’s kinda worrying.

@illegalmonkey As much as we like to think otherwise, AAA games are still nowhere close to mainstream culture as the biggest television shows and movies. Pre Suicide Squad Arkhamverse is my favourite version of Batman, and the Arkhamverse is still nowhere close in terms of pop culture relevance to the biggest Batman movies.

By that logic if they don't value the gaming division then the games ip,s would most likely be sold off??

You'll probably find they will use a similar model to disney and marvels spiderman , new batman game made by insomniac confirmed , only on ps 😂

This doesn't bode well for some of my favourite franchises.

Paramount is attempting a hostile takeover of WB and supposedly they have Trump on side.
Netflix has not won anything yet.

There’s a chance they’ll cut the gaming studios and lay off everyone aside from a handful of developers and keeps the IPs to pump out more mobile games for their own service (there’s Netflix variants of mobile games). It’s sad but I do hope the deal won’t go through and the government will intervene to stop the birth of a giant monopoly.

I don't think this really means anything. I see this as the equivalent of saying that you didn't mention your son's paper round money when outlining your finances in a mortgage loan meeting with the bank.

Although I understand their perspective coming from someone who simply is looking at numbers in a spreadsheet through the lens of a TV distributor, as a gamer it’s a really disappointing take. The WB games have brought very fond memories over the years for me. To cast off the entire division like some unwanted stepchild is really a slap in the face, and in my opinion, shortsighted. It’s expected from suits in a boardroom however. But this is the kind of thinking that shuts down innovation, creativity, and forward exploration. It will probably follow a similar path of what happened to Marvel and Star Wars when a large company took over and tried to squeeze every penny out of the movies and TV. At least Disney had the foresight to not completely ignore the gaming potential of their IP however.

@illegalmonkey it’s relative. Compared to the film and television IP those games are irrelevant, especially to a buyer like Netflix. Netflix has a passing interest in the mobile platform but ultimately has shown very little interest in funding or overseeing the development of its own titles.

If the deal goes through, I could very much see Netflix selling off/disbanding the studios it acquires, then taking a similar approach to Disney and licensing the rights of its IP to other gaming publishers and developers.

They'll all be broken up, sold off and shut down then.

They don't seem to be too bothered about that gaming division yet I don't expect them to sell off the billion dollar harry potter gaming IP.

Netflix will be totally happy to hold the gaming IP. They'll just licence them all out
It's the studios that they will shut down or sell off if they can. They won't want that extra staff and will be looking at how to recoup money as Microsoft did.

Microsoft won't be interested in any of it I don't think. Neither Nintendo or Sony. Without the ip can't see any takers for their studios. Massive job losses incoming