Warner Bros. Games report has us worried for Harry Potter, Injustice, and more
A new report claims that Warner Bros. Discovery could be selling a stake in Warner Bros. Games due to financial troubles. If this is the case, it could be a disaster for IPs like Harry Potter, Injustice, The Lord of the Rings, and more.
06th Aug 2024 14:02
Images via Warner Bros. Games
Warner Bros. Games report has us worried for Harry Potter, Injustice, and more
A new report claims that Warner Bros. Discovery could be selling a stake in Warner Bros. Games due to financial troubles. If this is the case, it could be a disaster for IPs like Harry Potter, Injustice, The Lord of the Rings, and more.
06th Aug 2024 14:02
Images via Warner Bros. Games
While Warner Bros. Discovery might hold the rights to some of the biggest IPs around, that hasn't stopped the entertainment powerhouse from charting some choppy waters recently. The WB Games division should be sitting pretty with everything from Harry Potter to The Lord of the Rings, DC Comics to Mortal Kombat under its belt, but sadly, that's not the case.
It's no secret that Warner Bros.'s gaming output has been a bit of a mixed bag recently, with Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat 1 having to make up ground lost by Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. In particular, the latter could've cost Warner Bros. around $200 million in losses.
Warner Bros. Discovery could sell a stake in WB. Games
In a concerning piece from the Financial Times, there are rumbles that Warner Bros. Discovery could sell a stake in WB. Games in the hope of avoiding a "break-up" of the media giant. The FT claims there's been a 70% fall in stock price since WBD was formed in 2022, leading Chief Executive David Zaslav and Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels to evaluate "all options."
Among the viable options, we could see WBD sell a stake in Warner Bros. Games, with the article explaining, "Zaslav and Wiedenfels are instead looking to offload smaller assets. They are considering offers to sell Polish broadcaster TVN or a stake in Warner's video games business."
FT notes that the Harry Potter franchise is a major asset, which follows from the success of Hogwarts Legacy, recent rumours of a sequel, and the upcoming release of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions. Still, that's not the only string to the bow, with it being a criminally long time since we've had a good The Lord of the Rings game.
When the news made it over to Reddit, some suggested that it would be a good idea to let others in at WB. Games, saying that something needs to change. One fan said, "Guess Hogwarts alone can't keep it afloat with all the rest of the trash they piled up," while another added, "Sell the rights to the Nemesis system."
A third said, "Time for Tencent to gobble up another part of a company and for me to never buy another game of theirs." Worrying about specific franchises, someone said, "Injustice fans, it's so over." We've long been waiting for news on a mythical Injustice 3, and while Ed Boone continues to tease us, the DC fighter is yet to reappear.
There's the obvious addition that buying a stake almost certainly wouldn't give you full control over a specific IP, meaning we're not quite sure who this potential deal would aimed at. Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment to the FT, suggesting there could be more than a little truth to this story. Oh WB. Games, you had one job.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
