Warner Bros. Discovery’s dire financial straits may lead to it selling off various “smaller assets” as a means to avoid a complete “nuclear option” corporate breakup.
Per Financial Times, senior management like CEO David Zaslav are considering selling off its video game division. That side of the business includes original franchises WBD acquired (Mortal Kombat) and long-running transmedia brands (DC, Harry Potter).
Since merging with Discovery in 2022, WBD has repeatedly affirmed its desire to stick around in video games, particularly live-service. It saw a big success in 2023 with Hogwarts Legacy, followed by the modest MultiVersus and disappointing Suicide Squad in 2024.
According to the outlet, selling its games may be the one sale WBD could make without triggering complications, both legally and content-wise. The company recently lost out on media rights for NBA games and is re-rebranding its Max originals back to HBO.
Selling itself is in WB’s blood
Notably, this is the second time this decade that WB Games has been up for potential sale.
Back in 2020, when Warner Bros. was still owned by AT&T, parties like Microsoft and Take-Two were interested in buying the interactive division. At the time, a potential deal would’ve been valued for as much as $4 billion.
With a potential sale up in the air back then, it appeared to have affected NetherRealm specifically: instead of making Injustice 3 after 2019’s Mortal Kombat 11, it shifted to the universe reboot of Mortal Kombat 1.
A sale never happened, and WB Games has stuck around as its own entity. However, Microsoft never fully took its eye off the Warner ball: leaked documents from 2023 show it wanted Gotham Knights, Mortal Kombat 1, and Suicide Squad on Game Pass for a range of $50-$250 million each.
If WB Games were to be sold off now, it’s unclear for how much, given the performance of its aforementioned 2023 and 2024 games, along with Monolith Productions’ incoming Wonder Woman title.