Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Is Reportedly Up For Sale

Anyone but EA please

@Toph6661 I'd rather take EA than Activision Blizzard or Take 2 any day of the week, but yeah, can't say that I'm thrilled for any of the three to get their hands on them...

@Toph6661 They are all as bad as each other at this point, all three stuff their games with microtransactions and various other negatives.

Not EA please. They're too big as it is. I don't care for Activision Blizzard either but EA is the worst in my opinion.

But this is just one case of what seems to be happening all over the tech industry. Big companies getting bigger and gobbling up everything they can. And the bigger they get, the worse they get. The bigger the company gets with more properties, they less they have to actually care what consumers think because they have so many that upsetting them doesn't matter anymore...

It's a lot of money to essentially buy no games other than Mortal Kombat and Lego. It's bad news no matter which of those 3 end up buying them and having the likes of the Batman rights for a while

Could explain micro transaction and loot box madness, the profits go to the parent companies, where they have one, to manage their huge debts

Gotta sell the toys when times tough

Please, no Lego games where i can get random lego pieces in lootboxes .

No but seriously, i hope Traveller's Tales will still keep their independence in decision-making if they get bought up. They're great at making Lego games and i wouldn't want any bigger parent company tarnishing that.

I wonder what this means for the court of owls game that was supposed to be in production... Need me a new Batman game.

Just like Alien vs. Predator and Godzilla vs. King Kong.

No matter who wins, we all lose.

They should take a tip from eBay sellers: sell them separately.

TT and 5th Cell are very different studios to Rocksteady. Potentially they’d have different buyers (sadly likely to be mobile focused).

In general though I’d say that any of the established players would be stupid to pay $4 billion for Warner Interactive. They can just hire talent to their existing studios for a fraction of the price (so Microsoft... how sensible are you these days...)

If I were Amazon or Google though (or even Apple...) I’d be all over this. It’s an established set of successful studios with a diverse range of successful games (even without the Batman license to lean on).

Nintendo should try to strengthen its western developer studios by buying some of these studios.

No one wants to play Batman games after Coronavirus - Batman is contagious.

@Toph6661 Okay then, Tencent it is

Not sure of the value in outlaying cash to buy all these games studios to pay their employees that may just up and leave- and then have to pay to license all the characters? Especially with games like Lego being a bit tired these days and not exploitable with the traditional loot box route.

I guess they could split it up piecemeal like selling off Mortal Kombat, but why would you buy studios when you don’t really own any IP like Batman or Harry Potter?

@MrGawain because the staff working at the studio are clearly talented individuals who make good games. The license is marketing-friendly window dressing, but the Batman games themselves are actually great regardless.

Yes the staff might leave, but the studios have fostered the right working environments and game engines to help cultivate good development.

And half the time the studios own name becomes synonymous with quality, even when the staff move on.

4 billion, yeah, no one is buying at that price.

If I had to pick then I prefer EA and Activision above Take-Two anyday.

No EA and Activision aren't the best picks either, but Take-Two is by far the most rotten gaming company out there, even more than EA and Activision TOGETHER.

IMO No one is buying WB Games for $4 billion unless it includes an outright purchase of at least one of its major IPs.

Sure hope it's not Activision or Electronic Arts. The classic arcade catalog will never see the light of day again if one of those two buy it.

Take-Two Interactive at least seems willing to do smaller scale releases on occasion rather than always chasing the next game that could sell 20 million copies, so perhaps they'd be the best choice for this heritage that can be modestly successful commercially but would always be small potatoes for today's Activision or EA.

If one of these giants does buy it, I'd be thrilled if they sold off the classic Midway/Williams/Bally/Atari Games catalog to a smaller company that would actually make use of it (I'm sure the buyer would hold onto Mortal Kombat though, which reportably was the only reason why WB bought Midway's remains in the first place).

Wouldn't that include Monolith also. If so I can see companies maybe wanting the F.E.A.R ip as any of the other ip they created would still be owned my WB except for Mortal Kombat and Scribblenauts.

What is also interesting is that CD Project Red will need too find a new distributor for Cyberpunk in NA unless bandai Namco jumps at the chance as they are doing it for Europe.

But if I only had too pick from the 3 companies above too buy them out I would rather have EA. Don't get me wrong they are all terrible companies with horrible practices for the games but EA is just a small small bit less scummy then Take two and Acti-blizz.

Whoever can make me a great Green Lantern game

I wonder what this means for video game properties, like Mortal Kombat and the classic Midway games. Would the buyer now own stuff like the Rampage IP?

Hmmmm that's alot of figures!!! Damn it wished i had such. Hope netherrealm isn't affected by this.

@SSJW dammit I was gonna go in at 3.6 billion

$4 billion eh? Right, let's have a whip-round. I'm UK based and I've got 37p (not sure how much that is in USD but it's a start).

THQ Nordic could buy them.

I personally think it's a case of picking your poison on this one.

I pick Take-Two personally.

Nintendo! This is your chance to fight next gen consoles!
Although this studio isn’t exactly Nintendo like studio lol

@gaga64

Not entirely sure that's true. Look at Microsoft buying Rare, and EA buying Bungie- they are no longer the studios they were originally as the key workers leave. If you want good games buy the talent, not the name that hangs over the door.

Theoretically It would be cool for Nintendo to grab all that classic ip! But then we’d only see them on Switch. I’d rather see them on all the consoles. So Out of the potential buyers I’d have to pick Activision as the best bet to put those midway/Atari arcade classics on current gen consoles. And there’s a ton of them! Good thing you can play Midway Arcade Origins on Xbox one via BC!!

Being employed by AT&T, it was a shocker when we got an email stating the our selling it, even bigger shock was hearing the buyers. But one term they are looking for is getting a cut from the sales of the IPs. I did send an email begging them not to sell to them and the reasons why, doubt they will listen.

Not only this will be terrible news if EA, Activision or Take-Two buys them, but it will be a huge step backwards for videogames based on other forms of media.

People talk so much about Disney, but Warner is another media conglomerate, they own many modern movie franchises and classic movies from old Hollywood, they own DC Comics, they own cartoon franchises like Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry and Hanna-Barbera, they own Cartoon Network, they own HBO, and Warner Interactive made many games based on their properites, not everything was good, but they had effort to expand these franchises into videogames.

Disney tried to make their own videogames but failed, it was much better to just license them to third-parties, but for years, Warner is doing very well with their in-house gaming division, selling it is a terrible idea

@MrGawain I haven't heard anything about EA buying Bungie.

I might actually buy it! Let me just check my purse. Actually never mind.

Granted it probably wouldn't happen, but wouldn't this be a good time for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft to step in. The Lego games would be good for nintendo, batman would be good for sony and Microsoft could possibly do good with others too.

My money is on TenCent, unfortunately.

@TG16_IS_BAE Tencent as in Activision Blizzard indeed.

None of these companies are any good. EA might be even the least evil of them, which is shocking. I actually hope Ubisoft, Capcom or Nintendo would do an offer.

@sanderev Nintendo would be a good buyer, basically the least corrupt out of the bunch.

What if Nintendo would have bought netherrealm studios and traveler's tales. That would be huge for lego games and mortal kombat.

@frogopus It's good that somebody here is supporting these giant corporations struggling to stay afloat!

Kotick Income: $30,841,004
Executive Compensation
Kotick made $30,841,004 in total compensation. Of this total $1,756,731 was received as a salary, $2,461,848 was received as a bonus, $19,037,673 was received in stock options, $7,495,745 was awarded as stock and $89,007 came from other types of compensation.

@SSJW,

I will not pay a penny more than 3.5 billion, I have to have some money left over to pay the rent.

5th Cell basically died in 2016.

Well EA can't have it, it would be a conflict of interest and im not using thier stupid origins launcher. and i certainly don't want activison to have thier grubby micro hands on it either.

we need someone unbiased to take an interest. but i rather them not sell it at all, just what is warner thinking?

@NicolausCamp I'd rather Square Enix or Sega if I'm being honest. Those are the only major publishers who I think would be the best fit for those companies and brands. Not sure if Sega would have the capital though and Square Enix... might not be in the market to add to their portfolio.

Mortal Kombat sinks another publisher!

@ReaperExTenebris I think Nintendo would be interested in buying maybe an IP like Scribblenauts or maybe just 5th Cell outright which would be a good fit for both parties. I just don't see Nintendo being interested in buying Rocksteady or NeatherRealm. I mean Nintendo owning Mortal Kombat? That just sounds too out there for even the Big N, who while publishing Bayonetta, Astral Chain and Devils Third may draw the line at MK.

@ReaperExTenebris Well, it depends on the IP. Scribblenauts has been historically a better seller on Nintendo and exclusively on Nintendo platforms so most fans probably already own a Switch. So, as I said 5th Cell and Nintendo would be a very good fit.

For the other companies, I just don't think Nintendo would be interested in adding to their brand. MK has never been a huge seller on their consoles either post MKII & MK III and would probably clash with Nintendo's development philosophy. Rocksteady has never done anything outside of open-world Batman games so it is a big risk for Nintendo to buy them. I'm just pointing out that it be very unlikely Nintendo would buy any of them outside of 5th Cell.

My choice would be probably Square Enix or Sega to scoop them up, Sega would be a great fit for 5th Cell and TT Games. They'd also allow the freedom for NeatherRealms to keep doing what they're doing and Rocksteady a crack at their massive IP catalogue. Square Enix would be rather similar as while a money-hungry company like an EA, Activision and Take 2 would be a better alternative to all three.

I agree with you and generally think outside of 5th Cell no one has anything to worry about Nintendo buying any of these studios.

@sarethums Wait! If we combine both of our purses then we got this. My only condition is that I get all rights for anything Kiteman and Plastic Man.

Oh boy!, And again history repeats itself, Warner Bros. for video games simply end in losses; If we remember, thanks to them, Atari fell, caused the crisis of the 83's and dismantled Atari, leaving only ashes that still have bad luck whoever has them (if Infogrames, you know it well ...)
Now, the video games division is trying to sell it, quite possibly to the economic performance it has had, but again, Warner in video games is not so lucky ...
(I clarify economic performance and no, how good or bad their video games were)

Well, let's see how it turns out; And yes, EA is not the option that "everyone" wants, however, it is "true" that Warner and Atari are not lucky in video games, because I think, of course, EA would buy it.
(I looked cruel, XD)

I sure hope it won't adversely affect TT Games or Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, one of my most anticipated upcoming games... Remember what happened to Lucas Arts and 1313 after the Disney acquisition? :/

Let’s just hope AT&T didn’t take out their loan through All-Devouring Black Hole Loan Sharks.

To me it's a question of what would you rather sit your bare butt on when squatting while camping (feel free to interpret which is what company on your own):

1) Fire Ants
2) A pissed off yellow jacket nest
3) A porcupine

@Garage Imagine the reaction on everyone's faces if Nintendo announced they now owned Mortal Kombat and the only place to play the next game would be the Switch or it's successor.

On top of which, they would also get rights to most of Midway and Atari's arcade games.

A root beer tapper stage in smash, or a stage based on defender. It sounds nuts, but if Nintendo opened the piggy bank here, they would walk away with tons of new stuff.

Honestly at this point I think EA is the lesser of the three evils

especially after what happened with Take Two and Kerbal Space Program 2, in addition to Activision and their handling of stuff like Hong Kong and Warcraft 3 Reforged, EA is actually making a way better public impression than either of those two companies. They even seem to be using the Star Wars license properly for once considering how they vastly improved Battlefront 2 in addition to Jedi Fallen Order and that new Squadrons game that's getting revealed on Monday that sounds like a spiritual successor to Rogue Squadron

@Toph6661 anyone but ea,take two and activision those 3 are the greediest wen it comes to lootbox crap and rush their games out broken/glitchy points to ea and take two.

As long as EA doesn’t buy it.

NetherRealm/Mortal Kombat/Midway IP’s to Nintendo... other studios on offer to everyone else, LOL!

@SteveDaSteve If they did, Disney could finally buy Warner Brothers, and we could finally get that DC and MCU crossover movie everyone wants.

I wonder how they got that much debt... their games haven’t been tanking, have they?

I know people are saying Nintendo, but of the 1st parties, Microsoft could probably use these studios the most and have the deep pockets to allow them to flourish. Mortal Kombat could crossover with Killer Instinct while Rocksteady could continue licensing Batman and other DC properties like Sony with Spiderman. TT and 5th Cell would also give the the Xbox the E rated exclusives they have historically struggled with.

@Wexter The idea of Nintendo owning Mortal Kombat is a huge irony. Considering the almost universal apathy towards the SNES version of the original is what pushed them the slightest away from their family-friendly-only attitude.

Though thinking of foreign companies who probably shouldn't be allowed to buy them, I'd put Square-Enix on the "they're big enough already" list. Can't remember if Ubisoft was still on people's "naughty" list (was it old evil DRM or otherwise?)
And then there is the company once known as Infogrammes. Would be if they thought about it, considering their ownership of the other half of Atari and that they are also a doomed company at this point (unlike Nintendo who people called "doomed" for two decades now).

This is sad, really sad.

@Sans_Undertale Disney buying Warner Bros.? I would hope that is the point Disney would get questioned for being a monopoly.
Who would be left to compete with them? Paramount and Universal?
Should be left with Disney vs. Viacom vs. Comcast in the film industry? (my brain hurts from even thinking about that last question. All three of them have committed great evil.)

If Nintendo were to acquire a studio, Rocksteady or Monolith Products would be good.

As long as it's not Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft then it's good. Other than Mortal Kombat and Injustice, Warner Bros. doesn't had that many good IPs anyways.

It's kinda funny that seemingly some people here would prefer for them to be bought by a company who's known for shutting down studios over their games being exclusives.

@NIN10DOXD Honestly, I am shocked Microsoft is not opening up the piggy bank and going for this. Getting Mortal Kombat as a system exclusive will help sell millions of Xbox systems, and being the exclusive home of DC video games like the Batman series and Injustice(another huge seller) will also give Microsoft a massive boon and major advantage.

1st party support is where Microsoft has stuggled in recent years, with Sony and Nintendo pretty much running circles around them in this regard.

Sony might get the new Spider-Man game, but the buzz about Microsoft getting the next Batman game exclusive to their console would set the internet on fire.

Getting Mortal Kombat as an exclusive would be an even bigger deal.

On top of which, Microsoft would gain access to Midway and Atari's other IPs and backlog of arcade games from the 80s and 90s.

Honestly, I wish Microsoft would take a bold move like this. They need something that gives them the edge over Sony and counters their line up.

Saying "We have Mortal Kombat XII and you can only play it on Xbox Series X" would turn alot of heads and sell a good number of Xbox systems.

In all seriousness, consolidating the industry even further is absolutely not a good thing.

I was going to make a snide remark about IP and the key to the source code being a DLC to be paid after the initial deal. Guess reality caught up to my most sarcastic views

@Caryslan I was just about to post this here. I 100% agree with your post. If Microsoft would be able to pick up at least the IP’s, that would be massive for them.

This weekend, after the PS5 reveal, I’ve been taking a look at Microsoft Game Studios and their exclusives, and Batman and MK would fill a massive gap there. They have their shooters (Halo and Gears), racer (Forza), indies (Cuphead, Ori, Fez, ), Rpg (Senua’s sacrifice, Obsidian’s games, and Everwild from Rare), 3D Platformer (Psychonauts). But adding Mortal Kombat and especially Batman to that list as console exclusives would be a massive addition!

@Xaessya that's impossible to make a green lantern game cause we can't make anything from the ring like the actual character.

Oh god, please don't let it be EA and Activition. I'll take Ubisoft at this point.

Scribblenauts is the only game on there I dont want to be given to anyone without a soul.

As long as it’s not EA

Does AT&T own any other game studios at all?

...
Dumb questions, I guess. They're a phone provider. They probably own a small forest of mobile developers through their acquisitions over the past decade.

@TG16_IS_BAE My thoughts exactly, they've been buying up/buying into the games industry for years now... where does everyone think MTX come from?

Don’t Warner brothers, just don’t. If EA gets ahold of it our LEGO games are going bye bye. EA is more focused on sport and adult games and doesn’t care much for games based on children’s toys. Blizzard wouldn’t know what to do with it and take-2 would likely struggle to get big movie names under their wing. Just leave it as is Warner brothers, sell DC or something else

@edgedino
It could work if they structure it like Divinity Original Sins

No EA. God not EA. I know that Activision-Blizzard isn't much of a saint either, but I'd rather them than EA. I'd personally take Take Two, but I hope a better company like maybe Ubisoft or the big 3 buy them instead.

Damn, the vultures are already looming... One thing is for certain, Warner games are not gonna stay fun for long if one of those three gets a say in it.

@Mrnotultra
Ubisoft is in the same boat now honestly. I think of the three, Activision is actually the lesser evil... Take 2 is same level or worst than ea now :/

@MrAsild fair, I see what you mean with take-two, I don't think they're an evil Corp, but they're definitely not good. I mean, if they were a good company, they wouldn't release the same game on 3 separate generations without a sign of a sequel (GTA V)

Activision-Blizzard makes quailty games but they also fill us up with unlimited lootboxes and in-game purchases, but at this point, they might be the better one, so you might be right.

But I would prefer another company like Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft, because the worst case scenario is that they will be exclusives, and best case they would be the same exact same.

Actually, Sega might be the best option. It would be profitable for them, and it would affect little to nothing for the games, kinda like Atlus.

You are all clearly upset at the thought of EA buying Warner Bros. Interactive, and I am too, so I made this petition. Sharing it would be appreciated. http://chng.it/fhbxjHhF

@Xaessya ya I guess that could work

Please not Microsoft.

@psona123 I'd rather have it be EA than have it be Microsoft. At least then it would be multiplat.

hmm that is interesting but also not that much since its Microsoft knowing them they might rarely use any of the ip later on.

Microsoft would be wise to buy it. They need more game development studios to produce content for Xbox. Something they seemed to lack this generation vs PS4.

Get em Microsoft. I give you my blessing.

I didn't know WB Interactive had bought TT Games out altogether.
I hope that made the original founders a good bit of money.

I suppose that sale and this new one means Traveller's Tales aren't about to start branding their games with their classic Rodney Matthews designed logo again anytime soon. ^^

As much as Microsoft could use it to gain some major exclusives and good developers. I am worried if that happens based on their track record of doing such things with big name devs in the past only to make all the staff unhappy until the point where the key people all leave and they become a shell of their former selves and get shut down.

@Zenszulu You are talking about the time before Phil Spencer.
Since when did Phil do anything bad the last 6 years?
Phil is also the reason why Microsoft bought the milking cow Minecraft.

Phil also reports directly to Nadia.

Microsoft is the only option here that would be reasonable. EA and Activision would be the worst ever, and Take Two only slightly better

I would love a LEGO/Nintendo hybrid game.

This news gets less and less Nintendo related the more it goes on. But guess that’s NLife for ya ¯(ツ)/¯

I wouldn't mind at all if Microsoft had Warner Bros since I plan on getting the Xbox Series X anyway.

Imagine a Lego game by EA or Activision. 5000 studs pack for just $5.99
Or even worse. Buy tickets for just $1.99 for a chance to unlock one random character.

Mortal Kombat already had micros for easy finishing moves, so they are well aware of the territory that pisses off gamers. The lego games have been beating a dead horse for years now and their Lego dimensions and Lego World's both went down in flames. I don't think it's worth that much, Scribblenauts if also completely dead. Rocksteady can only pump out one Batman game every 10 years anymore...

Hopefully Microsoft buys it. That would be the best option. As an X owner I welcome it, but seeing as how Microsoft has been willing to share their IPs on other platforms it’s likely their titles would be available on Switch too.

Maybe the new buyer will make more Scribblenauts games? One can dream.

@Bearzilla823 this would not affect current games in development.

@Garage That's what I was thinking. I'm still disappointed Nintendo didn't buy Rare. I've often imagined the games that would have been made. Jet Force Gemini 2... and More Conker, and another Diddy Kong Racing... alas, I can only imagine.

I think it would be cool if Microsoft buys them, if only so they could make a crossover game with Mortal Kombat and Killer Instinct. I think the characters from KI will fit in perfectly with MK. KI now looks quite dark and MK has become a very combo heavy game

I don't like any of the options. Especially EA

@John_Deacon Was teased for a while and a few outlet's reported on it for it to go silent.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vg247.com/2020/01/13/batman-the-court-of-owls-game/amp/

I think whoever buys them will not make a difference, they're all the same. It will be just a logo swap.
Except Nintendo. If they buy WB Games I expect a rise in quality in all their future products and respectful handling of their IPs.

How can you be $200 billion in debt anyway without getting shot from all sides?

@SKTTR Yeah, how does somehow who isn't the US government get that far in debt?

C'mon Nintendo, you got enough cash. Money come and go, game licences are 4ever

If Microsoft buys them, hopefully some titles will still be multi-platform.

And in a way I want Nintendo to buy WB, but I can't imagine the company that owns Kirby owning Mortal Kombat.

Also, AT&T, how did you get 200 Billion Dollars in debt? I've seen dumber and worse companies with less debt. You realize that the reason why companies like Toys R Us got bankrupt is because of debt, right?

Would much rather have Sony pick them up; Microsoft/Xbox is a rather dull system and MS has wayyyy too many assets as it is...

@mesome713 you clearly have no idea how the real world works...

Good News Everyone: https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1300884290872504320