Netflix considers Warner Bros.’ game studios to be “relatively minor”, as it admits they didn’t factor into its $82.7bn acquisition deal.
Last week, Netflix announced its intention to acquire Warner Bros., which would include its game studios as part of the bid. That said, gaming was not mentioned in the press release for the news, while a webcast for the news only included gaming in passing.
Now, in the company’s latest earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Gregory Peters made it clear gaming was not a major consideration as part of its bid. “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,” he said.
It’s fair to say Warner Bros. has been struggling in the games industry as of late. In its 2025 Q1 earnings report, the company reported a 48 percent decrease in games revenue due to no new releases. Its most recent earnings report from November reports a 23 percent decrease, again due to no new releases.
This follows the cancellation of a planned expansion to Hogwarts Legacy; layoffs at Rocksteady after Suicide Squad flopped; the cancellation of Monolith Productions’ Wonder Woman game; and the shutdown of brawler Multiversus.
Still, it’s not as if Warner Bros. isn’t capable of success. A report from Bloomberg earlier this year stated Hogwarts Legacy had sold over 34m copies, making it one of the best-selling games ever. A sequel is reportedly in the works.
“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,” said Peters in the Netflix earnings call. “Quite well” is a bit of an understatement.
He continued: “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.”
Though harsh, there’s certainly some truth in Peters’ comments. Hogwarts Legacy’s success alone isn’t enough to keep Warner Bros.’ gaming studios afloat. And while a change in leadership came in June as the company doubled down on its biggest franchises (Mortal Kombat, Harry Potter, DC, Game of Thrones), nothing has been seen yet.
Still, it appears gaming is not a priority for Netflix, which doesn’t bode well for the future of these studios. So while Rocksteady is reportedly working on a new Batman game to follow its Arkham series, it’s unclear how this may be impacted by the acquisition.
And it’s not quite over yet – Paramount has also made a public offer for Warner Bros., in a bid to outdo Netflix’s “inferior” proposal.