David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, says he is exploring the possibility of licensing the company's intellectual property to non-Warner Bros studios to produce games.
During the company's financial results announcement, Zaslav explained why he believes 2023's Hogwarts Legacy was so successful and how it can serve as a template for future Warner titles.
“One of the reasons why Hogwarts Legacy was so successful and was the number one game last year, [was that] “They went to Hogwarts Legacy, entered the game, and were able to become part of that world,” Zaslav said (via IGN).
“I think that's ultimately an important aspect of the future development of this industry. We're going to make a movie, be it Batman, Superman or Harry Potter, and maybe there will be a TV series as well, but the opportunity to immerse yourself in that world and have the experience of spending time with all the characters is still ours.
“We have 11 studios here and a lot of intellectual property. And there is also a lot of interest from others to use some of that intellectual property for games, which we are looking into.”
Despite a large number of established IPs, Warner has struggled in recent years. While Mortal Kombat continues to be a success and Hogwarts Legacy was one of the biggest games of 2023, some of its biggest properties have remained largely untouched in recent years.
While Batman appears in “Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League,” not a single Batman video game has been released without VR since “Batman Arkham Knight” in 2015.
Warner Bros. also recently acquired Player First Games, the studio behind the crossover fighter MultiVersus.