According to Eurogamer.net, Netflix co-CEO Gregory Peters stated in a recent earnings call that Warner Bros.’ game studios were considered “relatively minor” and assigned no value in Netflix’s $82.7 billion acquisition bid. The gaming division wasn’t mentioned in the initial press release and was only discussed in passing during a related webcast. This dismissal comes despite Warner Bros. owning major franchises like Harry Potter, whose Hogwarts Legacy game has sold over 34 million copies. The studios have been struggling, with Warner Bros. reporting a 48 percent decrease in games revenue in its 2025 Q1 earnings due to a lack of new releases. This follows high-profile cancellations, like the Wonder Woman game from Monolith Productions, and the shutdown of Multiversus.
A Harsh Reality Check
Look, Peters’ comments are brutally frank, but they’re probably accurate from a pure balance sheet perspective. Here’s the thing: one massive hit, even a historic one like Hogwarts Legacy, doesn’t make a healthy, sustainable games business. The recent track record—Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League flopping, canceled projects, layoffs at Rocksteady, consecutive quarters of plummeting revenue—paints a clear picture of a division in serious trouble. Netflix basically looked at that volatility and decided it was a rounding error on an $82.7 billion media conglomerate deal. And you know what? For a company whose core product is a monthly subscription video stream, that math kinda checks out. But it’s a devastating assessment for the people working in those studios.
What This Means For Gamers and Developers
So what’s the stakeholder impact? For developers at studios like Rocksteady, NetherRealm, or Monolith, this has to be incredibly demoralizing. Your entire output is deemed valueless by your potential new corporate overlord. It creates immediate uncertainty about project greenlights, budgets, and frankly, job security. Peters did say they’re “super excited” about properties like Harry Potter and see an “opportunity,” but that’s vague corporate speak. For gamers, it casts a shadow over anticipated projects. Rocksteady is reportedly working on a new Batman game—will Netflix have the patience for a multi-year, high-risk AAA game development cycle? Or will they push for smaller, cheaper, more “integrated” experiences to bolster the Netflix app? I’m skeptical.
Netflix’s Real Game Plan
This whole episode clarifies Netflix’s gaming strategy, and it’s not about competing with Xbox or PlayStation. They’re not buying Warner Bros. to get into the console blockbuster game. They’re buying it for the film and TV library, the IP, and the direct-to-consumer platform. Games, to them, seem like a nice-to-have bonus—a way to add a little extra value to a subscription, maybe through mobile tie-ins or narrative experiments. Think of it as an advanced form of marketing for the shows and movies. It’s a fundamentally different mindset than running a premiere game publisher. And if Paramount’s competing bid goes anywhere, who’s to say their view would be any different? The harsh truth is that in this era of media consolidation, gaming divisions attached to legacy studios are often seen as problematic assets, not crown jewels.
