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Holy massive mergers, Batman! Netflix and has announced that it is purchasing Warner Bros. in a whopping deal worth an enterprise value of $82.7 billion and an equity value of $72 billion, reflecting both the overall worth of the company, including debt, and the value attributable to shareholders. But the important bit for us, dear readers, is that all of Warner Bros. gaming division is included.
First, some nitty-gritty details about the deal itself. Warner Bros. Discovery announced earlier this year plans to split into two companies, with the new subsidiary – which Netflix is purchasing – being a streaming & studios division. This includes stuff like HBO, HBO Max etc.
Netflix’s press release focuses heavily on the films and TV shows it’s acquiring, and doesn’t even mention the gaming division at all. However, Warner Bros. studios such as Netherealm and Avalanche are all going to be in the subsidiary, meaning they’ll be owned by Netflix.
The subsidiary company is expected to be up and running by Q3 2026, with the Netflix deal expected to close in 12-18 months.
This will hand Netflix some powerful teams and IP. They’ll own Netherealm and the Mortal Kombat series, for example. They’ll also gain Hogwarts Legacy team Avalanche, giving them one of the best-selling titles ever and access to the Harry Potter IP, although J.K. Rowling retains a lot of control over it to. Hogwarts Legacy’s sequel, which we know is being developed, will presumably launch under Netflix’s control.
They’ll also own the entirety of DC, including Rocksteady Studios, the developers of the Batman: Arkham series.
“Netflix expects to maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations and build on its strengths, including theatrical releases for films,” claims the press release, indicating that Netflix seems to want to keep everything running pretty much as is.
Warner Bros. has had a mixed time when it comes to gaming. Hogwarts Legacy destroyed the charts and has sold over 34 million copies. On the other hand, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League bombed hard, as did Gotham Knights. They’ve shut down several studios over the past few years.
This probably won’t be an exhaustive list, but here are the gaming-related studios and IP that Netflix will gain control of if the deal goes through.
Warner Bros. Games Studios
- Avalanche Software (Hogwarts Legacy)
- NetherRealm Studios (Mortal Kombat)
- Rocksteady Studios (Batman: Arkham series)
- TT Games (Lego games, including Traveller’s Tales, TT Fusion, TT Odyssey, TT Games Publishing)
- Portkey Games (Harry Potter games)
- WB Games Boston (support studio)
- WB Games Montréal (support studio)
- WB Games New York (support studio)
- WB Games San Francisco (support studio)
- Cartoon Network Games / Adult Swim Games
Key Gaming IPs
- Mortal Kombat
- Batman: Arkham
- Hogwarts Legacy / Harry Potter (gaming rights)
- Lego (various tie-ins)
- DC Comics characters (Batman, Superman, etc.)
- Game of Thrones (upcoming Kingsroad)
- Scribblenauts
- Middle-earth (Lord of the Rings games)
- Injustice
- Back 4 Blood / others from closed studios (IP retained)
