Warner Bros. is planning to shift priorities. Moving away from AAA games in favor of mobile and free-to-play titles
The head of Warner Bros. Discovery's gaming 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
According to him, the success achieved by Hogwarts Legacy, which sold 22 million copies, is not guaranteed in a "volatile" market. He supported his point by saying that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been a disappointment for the company.
The company is currently implementing a new strategic investment plan to help future games be more successful.
The plan, according to the executive, aims to reduce the risk from volatility by focusing on key franchises, shifting at least some of them to mobile platforms and free-to-play monetization, and continuing to invest in creating service-based games where users can play and spend money over a long period.
Perrette believes this will help the company earn steadily. The first projects aligning with the company's new policy will be released this year.
It is unclear whether Warner Bros. Discovery intends to completely abandon the development of premium console games. However, it is reported that the company plans to double down on expanding its gaming sector.
"We believe that games are an area where we have great growth potential, given the IP and opportunities at our disposal," emphasized Perrette.
This refers to brands like Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, the DC universe, and 11 external teams, including Avalanche Software, Monolith Productions, NetherRealm Studios, and Rocksteady Studios.
The company's latest significant release—a premium service-based game for consoles, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which was released on January 30 and in development for over ten years—failed spectacularly. It was not well-received by critics or the audience.
