Netflix reportedly „didn't attribute any value” to Warner Bros.' games business in the recent acquisition

Today, Netflix responded to Paramount Skydance's competition for Warner Bros. and revealed a surprising detail about its purchase considerations. During a presentation about the deal, Netflix co-CEO, president, and director Gregory Peters reportedly said they “didn’t attribute any value” to Warner Bros.' gaming division, as initially reported by Pocket Gamer. Most gamers would be first to attest to Warner Bros.' tremendous mishandling of many talented studios and gaming franchises over the last few years, but is it fair to say that WB Games is worthless?

Netflix co-CEO says that they “didn’t attribute any value” to Warner Bros.’ gaming business

The Warner Bros. acquisition by Netflix was announced last week, and it still has at least a year or more of regulatory processes to go through before it is finalized. You may remember how long it took Microsoft to finalize its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and how many other companies and government agencies Microsoft had to argue with. Then, yesterday, Paramount Skydance, another group in talks to acquire Warner Bros., announced its bid, calling it “superior” to Netflix’s offer.

In all these conversations, the effect on entertainment will be monumental. All these companies have significant stakes in the television and film industries, but they also vary in their involvement in video games. Warner Bros., oddly, is the most established of the three, owning a handful of major studios and notably publishing the best-selling video game of 2023, Hogwarts Legacy. Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance has a few promising prospects, such as Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, but no substantial launches so far. Meanwhile, Netflix continues to support a surprisingly good library of games. Still, it has yet to publish anything noteworthy itself, even going so far as to shut down its first AAA studio last year.

For Netflix’s co-CEO to call Warner Bros.' gaming ambitions something that doesn’t add any value to the potential deal is concerning. Would Netflix want to keep the studios around? Does this mean that they would be sold to the highest bidder? Or would Netflix just shut them down? The best-case scenario could just be that the studios continue to operate as is, but as Microsoft has shown, a massive acquisition like this almost always leads to layoffs and studio closures on some level.

To undervalue studios like Avalanche, which developed 2023’s best-selling video game, and other legendary studios like Rocksteady (the Arkham series), TT Games (countless LEGO games), and NetherRealm (Mortal Kombat, Injustice) feels like a mistake. But even amid aggressive competition from Paramount Skydance, Netflix is still confident the deal will go through. Peters reportedly said, “We have a deal done, and we are incredibly happy with the deal… We’re super confident we’re going to get it across the line and finish.” So, they may end up with these studios either way.the Bros.'

Hogwarts Legacy

February 10, 2023

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• Netflix
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• Hogwarts Legacy (series)