Netflix Co-CEO Gregory Peters has shed some light on WB Games’ future as part of last week’s shocker announcement buyout deal. Warner Bros.’ gaming division was oddly left out of the press releases, which had some wondering if it had been left off the table, but it seems there was a different reason for its omission. Details regarding WB Games were shared in an investors’ call meeting (via PocketGamer), and well, to sum it up, WB Games just wasn’t of enough interest to be included in the original announcement.
“While they definitely have been doing some great work in the game space, we actually didn’t attribute any value to that from the get-go because they’re relatively minor compared to the grand scheme of things.”
-Gregory Peters, Netflix Co-CEO, President & Director
Now, the Netflix Exec didn’t seem to be totally slamming WB Games as he did provide positive input regarding its successes, and in particular, Hogwarts Legacy, which heavily taps into the highly profitable Harry Potter franchise. However, he also admitted that Netflix hadn’t really “built in” the gaming division into its buyout deal.
“Now we’re super excited because some of those properties that they’ve built, Hogwarts is a great example of that, have done quite well, and we think that we can incorporate that into what we’re offering. They’ve got great studios and great folks working there. So we think that there’s definitely an opportunity there. But just to be clear, we haven’t built that into our deal model.”
Netflix has been working on developing its own gaming division for some time, where it has partnered with other entities such as Rockstar Games to offer mobile titles based on Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. Peters noted these projects have been the most successful of their mobile offerings, and these “IP enhancements” could also be applied to WB Games.
However, now that Paramount Skydance has thrown its $100 billion bid into the ring, the potential for Netflix’s deal to go through seems more in doubt, and so it could be a moot point on what it plans to do with WB Games. On the flip side of things, it does bring to the front how another company might have other strategies for its IPs. The gaming division has had its share of ups and downs, including many layoffs and studio closures, in recent years, and one way or another, could probably use a new direction to survive.