We are in the middle of a period of financial assessments and Warning Bros. Discovery also have make the point this week, revealing some information regarding Warner Bros. Games. To begin with, revenue generated by video games increased significantly thanks to the release of Mortal Kombat 1 and the continued performance ofHogwarts Legacy: Hogwarts Legacy. THE CEO of the group David Zaslav declared during the call to investors that the game of NetherRealm Studioswho has just welcomed Omni-Man in DLChas already sold nearly 3 million copies since its launch. He also welcomed the time spent by the players on the game of Wizarding Worldmore than 700 million hoursrevitalizing interest in the entire license Harry Potter. With a reboot announced on Maxit is certain that Warning Bros. Discovery intends to capitalize on this universe. On the other hand, we are not sure that he fully understood the reason why the game ofAvalanche Software worked given his other statements.
First of all, he only sees his 11 video game development studios as “an asset” in his “arsenal” to reach generations Z (1996 to 2010) and Alpha (after 2010), who according to studies prefer video games to other forms of entertainment (category where he places social media…). Then, he wanted to show that he has major gaming licenses, those worth more than a billion dollars. In addition toHarry Potter And Mortal Kombathe thus cited D.C.who “is mainly Batman today”, and… Game Of Thrones. A few games have obviously emerged over the years (Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series, Reigns: Game Of Thrones, Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall), but it’s difficult to put it in the same basket as the others in terms of importance in this area as long as no major release has seen the light of day.
In addition to these differences of perspective undoubtedly due to his position, this is what David Zaslav predicts for the future that is scary. Indeed, although it intends to invest more capital and resources in these established licenses and this sector of activity, its vision is therefore to bet everything on live service to carry out player retention and excessive monetization to generate ever more revenue…We are far from the solo adventure that is Hogwarts Legacy.
Our goal is to transform our largest franchiseshaving a base mainly on consoles and PC with release schedules over three to four years, to include more gameplay via live services, cross-platform and free-to-play expansionsin order to allowing more players to spend more time on more platforms. Ultimately we want drive engagement and monetization over longer cycles and at higher levels. We are putting specific resources in place. We are currently well below our potential and see significant opportunity to generate greater post-purchase revenue.
The transformation has already started with, for example, the announcement of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions and especially the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League of Rocksteady. But precisely, its February presentation where we learned that it will be a game live service has cooled more than one and, even if this was not the reason given, its postponement from May 26, 2023 to February 2, 2024 clearly showed that the transition to this economic model is not as simple as the shareholders and leaders think so. If a studio as talented as Rocksteadywho proposed the trilogy Arkhambreaks his teeth on this, it is perhaps not without reason.
Several studios have already paid the price, such as BioWare with Anthem and Crystal Dynamics with Marvel’s Avengers, both quickly abandoned, because the public did not follow and the promised content could not be fully delivered. It also seems that the PlayStation Studios are also struggling in this area since half of the projects live service in development have been postponed. Even Bungiewho succeeded in making the universe destiny a success, currently finds itself in difficulty. As for Epic Gamesthe cash receipts linked to Fortnite are no longer as important as before, as we learned when the layoffs were announced in September. Betting everything on this trend is therefore particularly risky.
Waiting to see how it comes out Warner Bros. Games in the future you can always get Hogwarts Legacy: Hogwarts Legacy in its PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions, sold for €52.99 on Amazon (here And there).
| Alexandre SAMSON (Omega Law) Responsible Proofreader – Editor | ||
| Addicted to Assassin’s Creed and Destiny, big fan of RPGs and passionate about video game experiences in general. Reader of comics (DC) and various mangas (One Piece!). Chemist by training and Whovian at heart. | ||
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