Warner Bros. Looking To Lean More Into Live Service Games

gameranx.com:

Despite dealing with the various layoffs and game cancellations, there is no shortage of games released into the marketplace. It’s been a rough couple of years for the video game industry post-pandemic. But that hasn’t stopped some companies from pivoting towards a new means of boosting revenue. Warner Bros. is one company that is looking to make some changes to the kinds of games it develops. 

Thanks to Gamespot, we’re finding out that Warner Bros. Discovery gaming head J.B. Perrette had the chance to speak at a Morgan Stanley event. According to the report, it looks like the consensus for Warner Bros. gaming going forward is less reliant on AAA single-player experiences. While Hogwarts Legacy was a massive hit when it launched, it doesn’t seem like Warner Bros. Discovery is keen on gambling on the success of these games. 

Instead, the company realizes that it has a variety of popular IPs and brands that it wishes to tap into strategically. This means offering live service experiences that would allow the games to continue seeing revenue support. Meanwhile, there are also plans to develop mobile gameplay experiences and free-to-play games. 

We’re doubling down on games as an area where we think there is a lot more growth opportunity that we can tap into with the IP that we have and some of the capabilities we have on the studio where we’re uniquely positioned as both a publisher and a developer of games.

All of these avenues would bank on the game’s success and interest to keep playing, logging back into the title regularly. Of course, these games would take time to develop and market. So, while this is the strategic plan as we advance, it does look like there are expectations that these games might not see much of a return for a few years. 

Of course, it’s likely that there are still plans to see some AAA games released into the marketplace that don’t follow the strategic trend Warner Bros. is aiming for. One of those is Hogwarts Legacy, which, as mentioned,