Warner Bros. Discovery has faced many challenges in recent years.As the strategic direction of the film and television department wavered, and the game business encountered Waterloo one after another, the financial status of this media giant was once worrying.It was previously reported on the Internet that many companies were interested in Warner Bros., and now it is officially confirmed that it is ready to be acquired.
According to the latest statement from Warner Bros. Discovery, management is evaluating potential acquisitions and has received active acquisition intentions from multiple companies.Netflix, Comcast and Paramount are the most active bidders.It is worth mentioning that Warner had previously rejected Paramount’s initial acquisition proposal.
The core trigger of the sale was Warner's failure to adapt to the new era of streaming media.Although the film and television business is gradually getting back on track under the DC Universe reboot plan led by James Gunn, the market performance of works such as "The Flash" and "Aquaman 2" did not meet expectations.
The performance of the game department was even more disastrous: "Suicide Squad: Destroy the Justice League" suffered from poor reputation and sales, "Multiversus" was discontinued after less than a year of operation, and the sales of "Gotham Knights" did not reach one-third of the target, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.Several development projects including "Wonder Woman" were even canceled last year.Even if "Hogwarts Legacy" is a great success in 2023, it will be difficult to restore the overall decline.
Some experts pointed out that this acquisition may have a profound impact on Warner's game business: core studios such as NetherRealm (developer of the "Mortal Kombat" series) and Rocksteady (developer of the "Batman: Arkham" series) may be spun off and sold, and the game adaptation rights of top IPs such as DC and Harry Potter may be licensed to other manufacturers.At present, Warner has not disclosed a specific sales timetable, but the industry speculates that the bidding war may be resolved in early 2026.
