Summary
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav stated in the company’s latest quarterly earnings call thatWarner Bros.may begin licensing out some of its biggest properties to allow for a wider variety of video game offerings.Warner Bros.owns the rights to major franchises like DC,Harry Potter, andLooney Tunes, among others, and the possibility of more game development studios having access to these licenses may be promising for fans.
As video games have become more expensive to make and asgaming production cycles continue to get longer, many AAA studios have looked to outsourcing development to ensure consumers and investors stay interested in their offerings. Following comments from Zaslav, many are now speculating that Warner Bros. will also begin looking outward to expand its library of video games.
During an investor call to discuss theWB Discovery Q2 2024 earnings, Zaslav addressed a question regarding the company’s video game sector. As reported byIGN, he stated that he and JB Perrette of WB Games are keen on developing Warner Bros.' gaming business. They specifically want to focus on the free-to-play sector of video game offerings while also taking advantage of its diverse IP portfolio. Zaslav made particular note of thesuccess ofHogwarts Legacyand commented that Warner Bros. would like to continue utilizing in-house studios for game development. However, he also stated that WB has started looking at allowing others to assist in maximizing the value of its IP lineup, perhaps suggesting that more developers will be granted access to making video games with licensed Warner Bros. franchises.
Warner Bros. May License DC And Harry Potter To Other Game Developers
While Warner Bros. has not officially announced any upcoming AAA partnerships with other game development studios, comments made by Zaslav and Perrette in the Q2 earnings call seem to indicate that the topic has been brought under consideration. Warner Bros. has previously licensed out properties to developers for games likeDC Superhero Girlsand theupcomingLooney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports. If Warner Bros. does want to maximize its IP value while expanding its video game offerings, it serves to reason that it would want to avoid rising costs and balance longer production cycles by licensing out its top franchises. Whether WB will actually move forward with such a plan remains to be seen, though Zaslav and Perrette have clearly voiced interest in the matter.
Contrary torumors of Warner Bros. turning away from gaming, it would seem that the company’s top executives are confident in the future of WB video games. With some of the largest media franchises in its portfolio,Warner Bros.certainly has plenty of content for its in-house gaming studios to work with and for outside developers to potentially license.
