The head of Warner Bros. Discovery's games and streaming division, Jean-Briac Perrette, announced that the company now plans to focus more on service-based solutions rather than AAA games.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
In his opinion, the success achieved by Hogwarts Legacy, which sold 22 million copies, is not guaranteed in the "volatile" market. He supported his thesis by stating that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was a disappointment for the company.
The company is currently implementing a new strategic investment plan, which will help future games be more successful.
According to the top manager, the plan is to mitigate volatility risk by focusing on major franchises, moving at least some of them to mobile platforms and free-to-play monetization, and continuing to invest in the creation of service-based games, which users can play and spend money on for a long time.
Perrette believes that this will help the company earn revenue consistently. The first projects that align with the company's new policy will be released this year.
Whether Warner Bros. Discovery will completely abandon the development of premium console games is unclear. However, it is reported that the company as a whole plans to intensify its efforts to develop the gaming direction.
"We believe that games are an area where we have significant growth opportunities, given the IPs and capabilities we possess," Perrette emphasized.
These brands include Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, the DC universe, as well as 11 external teams, including Avalanche Software, Monolith Productions, NetherRealm Studios, and Rocksteady Studios.
The company’s last major release, the paid console-based service game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which was released on January 30 and had been in development for over ten years, was a complete failure. It was not well received by critics or the audience.