Warner Bros. Doubling Down on Live Service Games

comingsoon.net:

CEO David Zaslav revealed the company’s plans to release live service games based on more of its popular franchises. The executive indicated that Game of Thrones, Superman, Harry Potter, and Mortal Kombat are franchises with great live-service potential.

As Eurogamer reported, the Warner Bros. executive outlined the company’s intentions during its latest earning call. According to Zaslav, the company’s focus is moving away from games with three-to-five-year release schedules. Instead, it will emphasize free-to-play live service games that maximize the time and money players spend on one game.

“Ultimately, we want to drive engagement and monetization of longer cycles and at higher levels,” said Zaslav. “We are currently under scale and see significant opportunity to generate greater post-purchase revenue.”

This interest in live-service games appears to have been at least partly motivated by Warner Bros.’s success with Hogwarts Legacy. During the call, Zaslav emphasized the amount of time players spent in the game. “Our Harry Potter fans have immersed themselves in Hogwarts legacy, playing more than 700 million hours to date,” he said. Zaslav went on to describe how this engagement helps both WB’s gaming business and the strength of its brands.

However, Hogwarts Legacy is not actually a live-service game but a self-contained single-player RPG. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’s foray into the live-service model hasn’t had the best start. MultiVersus saw initial interest but sank in popularity over the course of the open beta. Likewise, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League failed to generate positive buzz during its showcase in March. In fact, the negative reaction prompted Warner Bros. to delay the game by almost a year.