JB Perrette, Warner Bros. Discovery boss recently attended a Morgan Stanley speaking event where he discussed the company’s future gaming strategy. Perrette stressed that going forward the company will focus more on where it sees the biggest growth.
“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,” Perrette said.
Perrette serves as the CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games for Warner Bros. Discovery. He is in charge of Warner Bros. Discovery’s gaming and interactive entertainment business which includes the development and publishing of games at WB Games. He spent 11 years at NBCUniversal before joining Warner Bros. Discovery.
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Warner Bros. has published titles that have turned out to be a huge success including Mortal Kombat, Batman: Arkham series, and Hogwarts Legacy. For example, the 2023 Wizarding World game by Portkey Games, set before the Harry Porter events, sold over 22 million copies to become the most-sold game of last year.
However, Perrette admitted that the AAA console market was “volatile” and such a success cannot always be guaranteed. Referring to how volatile the AAA market can be, Perrette pointed at how their latest big release, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, was a commercial disappointment.
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To reduce the volatility going forward, Perrette said Warner Bros. Discovery will focus on its core franchises and transition some of them to mobile and free-to-play space. Also, he said they will continue to invest in live service games that engage spending players over a longer period. He believes this will help Warner Bros. Discovery to generate consistent revenue.
Warner Bros. Discovery wants to diversify its gaming platform portfolio
Perrette hopes that by bringing their games to mobile, they can tap into the growing mobile market. He also teased that Warner Bros. Discovery has new mobile free-to-play games launching this year. However, this doesn’t mean the company will ultimately stop making AAA games.
“Rather than just launching a one-and-done console game, how do we develop a game around, for example, a Hogwarts Legacy or Harry Potter, that is a live service where people can live and work and build and play in that world in an ongoing basis?” Perrette said.
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Perrette’s views corroborate what Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in an interview last December. Zaslav had said the company would shift its focus to “transforming our biggest franchises from largely console and PC based with three-four year release schedules to include more always on gameplay through live services, multiplatform and free-to-play extensions with the goal to have more players spending more time on more platforms”.
According to Perrette, Warner Bros. Discovery has a unique advantage in the industry because of the unique game franchises under their belt including Harry Porter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat, and 11 internal development studios.
During the discussion, Perrette said Warner Bros. Discovery had a “strategic investment plan” that will help guarantee the success of future games. That plan likely has something to do with someone they recently hired to assist with brand management and sustainability.
While Perrette is optimistic that the company’s gaming division can contribute meaningfully to the entire growth of the company, he cautioned that making games takes time but that their strategy is laying the foundation for returns in 1 to 3 years.
“We think we’ve got the franchises, we’ve got some of the greatest studio capabilities, and we have a roadmap and a strategic investment plan to try and build out that business, and we think there’s meaningful growth over the course of the next couple of years,” Perrette said.
Warner Bros. Discovery has two high-profile games in the pipeline including a Wonder Woman game and Harry Potter Quidditch Champions. Their approach to the gaming industry is significantly different from Disney’s which previously developed and published games but now licenses its IPs to other companies. For example, Disney has struck a deal with Microsoft/Bethesda to bring Blade and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to gamers.
