Hogwarts Legacy was the best-selling game of 2023, but Warner Bros says it wants to focus on free-to-play and live-service games even after Suicide Squad setbacks
Mar. 5, 2024I don’t think that’s what industry experts call ‘a good sign’
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
As highlighted byGamespot, Warner Bros Discovery gaming boss J.B. Perrette recently spoke at aMorgan Stanley Technologyconference, where he discussed the company’s plans, which include a pivot to free-to-play and live-service games. This revelation is surprising as Warner Bros' biggest release last year was Hogwarts Legacy, which doesn’t feature either of these elements.
“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 .
Despite the company’s previous success with AAA games for consoles, Perrette said the market is “volatile” and that success is never guaranteed - as demonstrated by both Hogwarts Legacy andSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s launches. To combat this, the exec says the company plans to instead focus on core franchises and bring some of them to the mobile and free-to-play market, as well as continuing to invest in live-service games that players will spend money on over time.
This doesn’t mean that Warner Bros will stop developing single-player AAA games entirely; “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?” the exec asks.
Following this, industry analyst Mat Piscatella shared his thoughts on the Warner Bros news toTwitter, writing: “When a company points out that they believe making the best-selling premium game of the year did not provide enough return to not pivot the franchise that game was based on to f2p/live service… well that’s a problem.”
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I’m also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.
Pathfinder: The Dragon’s Demand devs say Baldur’s Gate 3-style level caps help make games shorter, because not everybody has “time for 100-hour RPGs”
Cyberpunk 2077’s surprise car customization update was co-developed by the Metal Gear Solid 3 Remake devs, lets you lower your wanted level on the fly GTA-style
Get hundreds of hours of RPG goodness for $30 with this bundle of 8 games that includes the first two Baldur’s Gate games, which are absolutely worth playing
