CNBC: AT&T seeking sale for Warner Bros. gaming unit, could fetch about $4 billion

[Dust]

There are two elements that are really valuable here, in my opinion.

1)The ready games that just need to be published
2)NRS with MK

The studios without IPs are more trouble than profit and everything else is muddled.
I don't think this will go smoothly.

 

[ToddBonzalez]

Wow, fuck. Most of their studios are working on Warner IP, so that's wild.

 

[Deleted member 43]

Realistically speaking, do you see any of the platform holders going for this. I personally don't see it.

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If ATT is forced to sell it piecemeal I could see platform holders being interested in some of the assets. Otherwise, I think it's unlikely, they would pay a huge premium for the right to spend even more money dismantling a company they don't need much of.

Everyone should remember that this deal might not happen. According to sources it's not imminent and not in place.

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Hopefully, but I see the best chance of that being no one willing to pay what ATT thinks it's worth.

 

[boontobias]

Imagine NRS being sold to EA and losing the Mortal Kombat IP

Ed Boon finna retire

 

[KG]

So no more superhero games from them then as they would to pay for the rights?

I just don't want a first-party buying them. That will unleash console warrior bs.

I could see Square-Enix purchasing them? Do they have that kind of cash?

 

[Disco]

Oh no. I hope netherrrealms and also the batman license dont get fucked over by this

 

[BlueStarEXSF]

Man, they all suck. I guess Take Two wouldnt be the worst thing in the world. If it has to be between Sony and MS, it's better with MS as they have PC releases but fuck man. I hope it doesn't happen. Ubisoft would be better here if they allowed WB gaming to keep functionning as it has.

 

[PSOreo]

"Where are we going papa EA?".jpg

 

[Deleted member 60772]

Amazon has made noises about the video games industry.

just sayin'

 

[Brofield]

I'd almost hope Activision because they probably have the least chance of shafting Nintendo on multiplatform releases.

T2 or EA and Boon is fighting an uphill battle that I doubt even he could win to keep Mortal Kombat coming onto Switch and the Succ

 

[ToddBonzalez]

Also, if Google wants a shortcut to having a 1st party. Here it is.

 

[softfocus]

Why the hell does AT&T have so much debt and still buy out stuff like HBO recently?
I don't get capitalism.

 

[9-Volt]

Everyone on the publisher side would be gone. That's why it would be best for them to go to a company that doesn't already have a publishing operation.

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Neither EA or Activision would keep the management side of WB, publishing included. There would be some serious clipping if WB goes to either one of them. They are the worst case scenarios.

 

[Manmademan]

Disney killed their game division not too long ago, after the Toys-To-Life bubble pooped, they just aren't interested and don't think it's worth it.

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Disney's game division wasnt anywhere near as robust as what's on offer here. Completely different ballpark.

Also consider that due to COVID, blockbuster movies as a revenue stream are likely going to be disrupted for some time. I doubt we'll see an Endgame level film in theatres for a long time. Parks? Same thing. Both of those divisions will be down for years to come, and recovery to pre pandemic levels is questionable.

Gaming is a much more resilient business (Sony went out of their way to say this within the past couple of days) and Disney needs new revenue streams.

Not saying Disney will be in the running, but they absolutely should be given the IP they control.

 

[Deleted member 43]

Being a publisher is extremely difficult and expensive. Especially when it's in a market you don't operate in like Alibaba. Even with the Warner IPs it's a huge undertaking for a company that otherwise has no involvement and could easily lead to them burning cash for years and years.

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I don't disagree with any of that...but these companies can afford it and the upside is potentially huge.

It's not like Google, Amazon, Apple, Tencent, Alibaba, and others haven't explored something like this before. They all have, some many times. They all see the potential.

Neither EA or Activision would keep the management side of WB, publishing included. There would be some serious clipping if WB goes to either one of them. They are the worst case scenarios.

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That's literally what I have been saying with every single one of my posts.

 

[Maple]

Batman, Mortal Kombat, Lego, Middle-Earth, etc, all up for grabs.

Avalanche Studios, Monolith, NetherRealm, WB Games, etc, all up for grabs.

Wow.

Would be a colossal purchase for Microsoft or Sony to secure some massive IPs and studios for their platforms. Oddly enough, I would trust either Microsoft or Sony to handle WB's portfolio better than EA, Activision, or Take Two.

 

[BranFlakes]

so are they still gonna announce the Harry Potter RPG, and the new Batman game or will they be canceled :(

 

[Kthulhu]

I don't disagree with any of that...but these companies can afford it and the upside is potentially huge.

It's not like Google, Amazon, Apple, Tencent, Alibaba, and others haven't explored something like this before. They all have, some many times. They all see the potential.

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Yeah except Apple and Alibaba are the black sheep in that list.

 

[Deleted member 27995]

They spent $525 million on Saber - that alone is more of a AAA size investment than any of Sony / MS / EA recent buys

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Correction. They paid $150M upfront and the rest was an earn out based on milestones.

 

[Mrfb17]

:/

 

[Vic_Viper]

Really wonder what this means for the WB Montreal Batman game.

Also worried about what this says about WB and DC Comics under ATT. If they are getting rid of their Games' Division, what else is next lol.

 

[Pancracio17]

I dont have much faith in Activision or EA, I really dont like the way they manage things. Anyone else would be fine I think.

 

[JediTimeBoy]

Hoping it's either MS or Disney.

 

[¡ B 0 0 P !]

EA!?

2K!?

Motherfucking Activison!?

If those are the 3 choices I want Phil to swoop in at the last second.

Or else I'm scared what would happen with MK if one of those three got the IP. Especially if it's greedy Activision.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

I could see Square-Enix purchasing them? Do they have that kind of cash?

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nah

 

[CaptainKashup]

:/

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Man, I can't even imagine how you guys must be feeling right now.

 

[JusDoIt]

Feel like it would just lead to a MK/KI crossover

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They don't need to be at the same publisher to do a crossover. That can work right now.

 

[Raide]

:/

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Ouch, stay strong!

 

[SFLUFAN]

Huh.

I just realized that this puts the fact that IO Interactive is self-publishing Hitman 3 while WB published Hitman 2 into perspective.

 

[Deleted member 59955]

Man, they all suck. I guess Take Two wouldnt be the worst thing in the world. If it has to be between Sony and MS, it's better with MS as they have PC releases but fuck man. I hope it doesn't happen. Ubisoft would be better here if they allowed WB gaming to keep functionning as it has.

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Take Two would be the worst thing in the world. They sabotage their own devs and games.

 

[Alienous]

Well I'm looking forward to seeing what Rocksteady can do for Call of Duty map design.

 

[Deleted member 43]

Yeah except Apple and Alibaba are the black sheep in that list.

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I don't know what that means. I never said they were all equally likely. In fact, I said the opposite.

 

[Mentalist]

EA!?

2K!?

Motherfucking Activison!?

If those are the 3 choices I want Phil to swoop in as the last second.

Or else I'm scared what would happen with MK if one of those three got the IP. Especially if it's greedy Activision.

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Don't worry, Uncle Google will take care of MK. Stadia's web magic will give us the best netcode, no latency.

 

[That1GoodHunter]

:/

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Shit ...

 

[BrickArts295]

Well I'm looking forward to seeing what Rocksteady can do for Call of Duty map design.

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Mother f-ing 2020 keeps delivering. Yesterday already feels like a week ago XD

 

[BlueStarEXSF]

Take Two would be the worst thing in the world. They sabotage their own devs and games.

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They all suck.

 

[Prine]

The marketing and third party exclusivity so far has been significantly lower than the xbox one launch. Gamepass and studio purchases were done before the XSX launch, that's a long term investment due to their poor first party output. Additionally, the Mojang acquisition was in 2014 and had zero to due with XSX launch, what the hell are you talking about now?

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I find it extraordinary that you think of these investment as fixed costs that stop on the day a transfer is made, and therefore not contributing to current and future financing of department operations. All of those investments increase department costs, all these initiatives (Gamepass, xcloud, BC etc) are continuously expanded upon, these new studios were purchased to release content, all in service of XSX/PC/nextgen and future services, all of this comes under gaming division that has increased investment significantly in preparation for its future (that includes XSX). And we have no idea about the marketing yet as MS havent officially revealed their next gen plan, but Phil did say they've had to open a publishing branch of their gaming division because they've got so much going on. To suggest these expenditures were done before XSX and so negate them as investment for next gen is absurd.

 

[MidnightCowboy]

Would they be selling IP licenses as well?

 

[Creation_Scapes]

WTF :/

 

[BrickArts295]

Would they be selling IP licenses as well?

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That would be the idea. Its extra income without lifting a finger.

 

[xir]

does the sale come with perpetual WB licenses? i.e. batman?

 

[johancruijff]

:/

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[Deleted member 56752]

WB gave the final fatality.

 

[Galactic Specter]

Hopefully this sale doesn't affect the games currently in development that are tied to WB licensed IPs.

God knows we don't need WB Montreal cancelling another project.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Worst case scenario (outside of the studios getting shut down obviously)

-Google/Amazon

exclusive to platforms that nobody owns/cares about

Bad scenario
-Sony/MS/Nintendo

-Game quality would almost certainly improve, but a chunk of gamers would no longer have access to them

-EA and Activision

EA is not a very well run company and relies on exclusive licenses for most of their profits, horrible track record with acquisitions. Activision laid off 800 employee's after a record quarter and was such a bad business partner that Bungie paid them hundreds of millions of dollars to get away from them

Decent scenario

-Ubisoft

Very much into the GaaS/multiplayer/design by committee approach, but much better output than EA or Activision overall

-Take Two

Hit or miss

Good scenarios

Tencent, Disney.

Hands off, lots of money

Best case scenarios

Bandai Namco and Square Enix

Lots of creative freedom and experience, Square Enix already has western studios set up that could assist WB studios with game development. Less egregious business practices than the major western publishers.

This is just my personal list, feel free to critique and make suggestions.

 

[Cosmic Voyager]

I need an adult to tell me it's all going to be ok!

 

[Detective Pidgey]

Theoretically, sure. But ATT won't want to break WB Games up except as a last resort, as that would devalue the assets.

It's not "unfortunate," it's a tragedy. Keeping thousands of people employed (and preventing the further consolidation of the industry) is far more important than any other considerations.

Everyone on the publisher side would be gone. That's why it would be best for them to go to a company that doesn't already have a publishing operation.

Once again, WB Games won't be sold without long term exclusive game rights.

Apple wants recurring revenue, and media is a way to do that. Turning Apple into an actual game company has a huge potential upside for them. But yeah, like I said, it's unlikely.

These companies wouldn't buy a publisher because they already are a publisher, they would buy it to become one. WB gives anyone who wants to get into the industry a fantastic opportunity to do so.

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Indeed a tragedy, I can't even imagine that. So basically if MS or Sony were to get them tons of people would lose their job? So best case scenario would be Tencent, and I assume they will keep the games coming to the consoles and the people get to keep their jobs? I'm probably misunderstanding this whole thing completely.

 

[Dust]

Mortal Kombat Hero Arena Shooter from EA.

 

[Dead Man Typing]

I don't think this will happen. It's such a short sighted purchase.

If you sell Rocksteady then it better come with a 10 year license for Batman. Same for any other studio that's tied to a WB IP.

Some accountants think they can get a good price now for their game studios because games industry is "recession proof".

4 billion is way too much without owning the ip these studios are known for. Even if it included Mortal Kombat it wouldn't be worth $4 billion. But weirder things have happened and companies make bad investments all the time.

Edit: the idea above about a non-games publisher using this as a foot in the door is interesting. Maybe Disney decide to get back into games and re-buy Avalanche Software.

 

[TechnicPuppet]

Worst case scenario (outside of the studios getting shut down obviously)

-Google/Amazon

exclusive to platforms that nobody owns/cares about

Bad scenario
-Sony/MS/Nintendo

-Game quality would almost certainly improve, but a chunk of gamers would no longer have access to them

-EA and Activision

EA is not a very well run company and relies on exclusive licenses for most of their profits, horrible track record with acquisitions. Activision laid off 800 employee's after a record quarter and was such a bad business partner that Bungie paid them hundreds of millions of dollars to get away from them

Decent scenario

-Ubisoft

Very much into the GaaS/multiplayer/design by committee approach, but much better output than EA or Activision overall

-Take Two

Hit or miss

Good scenarios

Tencent, Disney.

Hands off, lots of money

Best case scenarios

Bandai Namco and Square Enix

Lots of creative freedom and experience, Square Enix already has western studios set up that could assist WB studios with game development. Less egregious business practices than the major western publishers.

This is just my personal list, feel free to critique and make suggestions.

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Sounds about right except I'd put MS in decent. Just because they do PC/Steam as well and would probably allow anything currently being made for other 2 to go ahead as well.