Netflix also acquiring Warner's game studios – including 'Hogwarts Legacy'

As Netflix acquires Warner and HBO for their movies and series, the deal also brings control of Warner's game studios, spanning franchises such as LEGO, Batman, Hogwarts and Mortal Kombat.

After a dramatic process in which Paramount attempted a hostile takeover, now rejected by Warner Bros Discovery for the second time, all signs point to Netflix becoming the new owner.

In addition to the Warner Bros film studio, HBO television studio and the HBO Max streaming service, the acquisition will bolster Netflix's gaming division with Warner's game studios Avalanche Software, Rocksteady, NetherRealm and TT Games.

 Also read: Official: Netflix acquires Warner Bros and HBO Max for $82.7 billion


Hogwarts Legacy and Batman Arkham
Avalanche Software is responsible for the Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy, which has been a huge success on game consoles such as PlayStation 5 since its release in 2023, with more than 40 million copies sold. Hogwarts Legacy 2 is reportedly in development.

Rocksteady is behind the popular Batman Arkham games (Asylum, City, Knight), but also misfires such as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

 Also read: You can now play Netflix video games on your TV

NetherRealm is the studio behind the Mortal Kombat games.

TT Games is responsible for virtually all LEGO games out there.


Netflix's gaming push
Netflix’s push into gaming has not gone as planned, prompting a recent strategy shift. So far, the most popular titles on the platform have been licensed games from Rockstar, most notably GTA. Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption was added recently.

That is now behind them. With the acquisition, Netflix can develop new games using Warner's vast library of IPs and franchises, while Warner’s seasoned game studios could create titles based on Netflix's own properties.

How much Netflix will invest in gaming under Warner remains unclear, with the company's co-CEO noting it is not an immediate priority.

- "While they definitely have been doing some great work in the game space, we actually didn't attribute any value to that from the get-go because they're relatively minor compared to the grand scheme of things," said Netflix co-CEO Gregory Peters commenting on the acquisition, and added:

- "Now we are super excited because some of those properties that they've built, Hogwarts is a great example of that, have been done quite well, and we think that we can incorporate that into what we're offering. They've got great studios and great folks working there. So we think that there's definitely an opportunity there. But just to be clear, we haven't built that into our deal model."