In what is arguably one of the most bizarre business moves this year, Warner Bros. Discovery’s head of gaming has said the studio intends to double down on its live-service games, despite its most recent one being a critical failure.
During a recentMorgan Stanley speaking event, Jean-Briac Perrette, who is the President of Global Streaming and Games at Warner Bros. Discovery, said, “The challenge we’ve had is our business, historically, has been very triple-a console based. As you know, that’s a great business when you have a hit like Harry Potter, it makes the year look amazing.”
Perrette then continued, “When you don’t have a release, or, unfortunately, we also have disappointments, we just released Suicide Squad this quarter which was not as strong. It just makes it very volatile.”
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League Mocked For Mobile Game-Like UI
Suicide Squad’s HUD is being heavily criticized for having too much going on.
Perrette went on to explain that Warner Bros would be focusing on its four main IPs, which areHarry Potter,Mortal Kombat,Game of Thrones, and theDC universe. He also said the publisher wanted to expand more into the mobile and free-to-play market, but this is where things get really baffling.
WhileSuicide Squad: Kill The Justice Leaguefalls under Perrette’s triple-a console-based games, its failure was largely due to it being riddled with live-service elements. After being delayed multiple times, Kill The Justice League finally launched on February 2nd (or January 30th, if you purchased the Deluxe Edition) for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Less than a month later, Warner Bros. admitted that the game “fell short of expectations,” during a February 23 earnings call (viaKotaku).
Hogwarts Legacy, on the other hand, a game that had absolutely no live-service elements, was thebest-selling game worldwide for 2023. In a year when you’re going up against the likes of Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Tears of the Kingdom, coming out on top is no easy feat. But instead of investing more into single-player games and ensuring there are no gaps for Warner Bros. to have a bad quarter or year, the studio is opting to focus more on live service and free-to-play games.
I’m not saying that mobile games and live service games aren’t popular or smart investments. Fortnite, a free-to-play live service title is one of the most popular games in the world, while the mobile gaming market is expected to surpass around $775 billion by 2032, according toPrecedence Research, so it’s a smart move. If you can pull it off correctly.
Live Service Games Are Just As Risky
Back in February,GamesIndustry.bizreported that 95% of 537 studios surveyed are working on or aim to release a live-service game. Ever since titles like Fortnite, PUBG, and GTA Online skyrocketed in popularity, every developer and publisher under the sun wants a piece of that succulent pie. Sadly, not everybody has been able to make it work.
Last year was an absolute massacre for live-service games, with what felt like non-stop shutdowns.Knockout City,Marvel’s Avengers,CrossfireX, andApex Legends Mobilewere just some of the live-service games that went to the grave in 2023. With so many developers eager to have the next Fortnite, the market is becoming incredibly saturated.
So what makes Warner Bros. think they can do any better? While the publisher has had some big hits in recent months/years, mainly with Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat 1, it also had plenty of failures, such as Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, Gotham Knights, and Back 4 Blood.
Warner Bros.’s next live service game due to release is MultiVersus, which started strong when its open beta was released in 2022, but saw adrastic decline in its Steam player count over a five-month period.
While the free-to-play and live-service market will always have the potential to be a gold mine for studios, the massive success of Hogwarts Legacy should be a clear sign that players are eager for rich story-driven, single-player adventures. Doubling down on live-service titles is riskier than investing heavily into triple-a single-player games. But Warner Bros.’s recent failure and the constant shutdown of live service games clearly isn’t cause for concern.
