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[Dory16]

The thing that really annoys me is that people are saying 'oh yeah, EA and Activision are loaded...they could easily buy WB'

They actually only have about 5 billion each in cash on hand, this would nearly wipe out their cash, it would completely empty TakeTwo who only have 2.5

Yet there are people saying Sony would be tight to buy it..... yeah, okay.... they have nearly 31 Billion in cash on hand. For comparison, Amazon has 43 Billion.

Bezos has about 150 by himself so...

 

[Ar¢tos]

I can't imagine Lego games still being profitable if limited to pc/xbox only, although the extra QA of being owned by a console manufacturer would seriously benefit them.
I guess Lego will just terminate the license to Traveller's Tales and find another 3rd party dev to keep making Lego games, if MS buys WB.

 

[Dory16]

Spending $4 billion on the Warner studios without the IP's is a very bad deal for Microsoft or for any other company. Would be cheaper to start new studios and hire the talent from Warner.

I hope MS is just keeping their name out there to put pressure on their competition and may be bait them into panic moves. This isn't a good deal for them.
They are only 2-3 very good studios away from being the biggest first party powerhouse in gaming. I'd focus on getting a few more solid individual studios with a good track record. If you're going to blow that kind of money in one load, go at CD Projekt.

 

[Memorabilia]

I'd prefer WB Games stay independent but if they're intent on being sold off, MS acquiring them is a far better outcome than being acquired by Acti or EA (ewwww).

 

[John254]

I hope MS is just keeping their name out there to put pressure on their competition and may be bait them into panic moves. This isn't a good deal for them.
They are only 2-3 very good studios away from being the biggest first party powerhouse in gaming. I'd focus on getting a few more solid individual studios with a good track record. If you're going to blow that kind of money in one load, go at CD Projekt.

I disagree.
Yes, 4 billion is too much and without IP's it makes even less sense (but we got two reports: one said 4 billion and second said around 2 billion).
But creating new studios from scratch and poaching all the staff? That sounds even worse
1. you would need to make sure, all the staff are going with you and nobody can guarantee you that
2. you would lost all potential IP's in that deal (like Mortal Kombat)
3. creating a studio is pretty difficult thing to do. You would need to create new production pipelines, studio culture and team ethic and you are risking that not all staff will come with you and it will all collapse. Why do you think Microsoft is expanding their current studios (like Playground Games) with second teams and not creating new one's? Because it is easier and not that financially demanding thing to do. Also it will naturally delay all productions and it will probably kill all the projects currently in development (Rocksteady is making Suicide Squad, WB Montreal Batman, Avalanche is making Harry Potter game...).

So instead working around a deal and for example have a clause, that you can release all their current games on Game Pass day one and then move them to different projects (while cashing on success of their current games) you would start from scratch, with no games in production, with "promise" that you can pouch all the staff. Not very wise.

Only negative thing from this acquisition is that many people will loose their jobs because of job overlaps. But that's also true for EA, Take-Two and Activision. It looks like Warner will shut whole thing down if it won't sell and I would want to see next Rocksteady/Monolith games.

 

[SaucyJack]

I disagree.
Yes, 4 billion is too much and without IP's it makes even less sense (but we got two reports: one said 4 billion and second said around 2 billion).
But creating new studios from scratch and poaching all the staff? That sounds even worse
1. you would need to make sure, all the staff are going with you and nobody can guarantee you that
2. you would lost all potential IP's in that deal (like Mortal Kombat)
3. creating a studio is pretty difficult thing to do. You would need to create new production pipelines, studio culture and team ethic and you are risking that not all staff will come with you and it will all collapse. Why do you think Microsoft is expanding their current studios (like Playground Games) with second teams and not creating new one's? Because it is easier and not that financially demanding thing to do. Also it will naturally delay all productions and it will probably kill all the projects currently in development (Rocksteady is making Suicide Squad, WB Montreal Batman, Avalanche is making Harry Potter game...).

So instead working around a deal and for example have a clause, that you can release all their current games on Game Pass day one and then move them to different projects (while cashing on success of their current games) you would start from scratch, with no games in production, with "promise" that you can pouch all the staff. Not very wise.

Only negative thing from this acquisition is that many people will loose their jobs because of job overlaps. But that's also true for EA, Take-Two and Activision. It looks like Warner will shut whole thing down if it won't sell and I would want to see next Rocksteady/Monolith games.

We have only got one serious report, this one on CNBC

AT&T seeks sale for Warner gaming unit, could fetch about $4 billion, sources say

AT&T is discussing selling its Warner Bros. gaming unit with Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard in a deal that could net the wireless giant about $4 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.

www.cnbc.com

Don't pay any heed to reporting of what would be a major corporate finance transaction in the gaming press. The gaming press is shit at the best of times.

 

[Bryank75]

Sony can't afford to pay 20-30B.

TakeTwo are 14 Billion...... Sony has 31 Billion in Cash on hand alone. They could do it, not likely to spend that much though, even for MS it's a huge acquisition.

 

[MilkyJoe]

If MS buy the sudio, it doesn't mean they'd make the games exclusive, that's not business, that's fanboyism

 

[Bryank75]

You don't need to make an acquisition using cash on hand. Given how low interest rates are right now, I'd argue raising debt is by far a better option.

Absolutely, I'm just saying that it's annoying that people have a that impression, debt financing is the way to go. Especially since Sony's debt is so low anyway.

 

[Andodalf]

I just cant see it happening.
For starters, the value of the company comes from the sales the games get on all platforms. If it becomes exclusive to MS they loose an install base of 100 million PS4 players. Instantly the company has been devalued to 3 Billion from 4 billion.
At at 4 billion, there is way better options.
Sony paid 250 million for Insomniac.
So MS could by 16 studios of Insomniacs quality for the same money.
Imagine the studios they could get in that bundle.
Maybe MS is in the box because a company like Amazon or Google are bidding and MS cant let them get a foothold like that.

How many players did Minecraft lose?

 

[12Dannu123]

TakeTwo are 14 Billion...... Sony has 31 Billion in Cash on hand alone. They could do it, not likely to spend that much though, even for MS it's a huge acquisition.

You don't buy companies at market cap price. Often there is a 15-50% prenium in stock value.

 

[Bryank75]

You don't buy companies at market cap price. Often there is a 15-50% prenium in stock value.

I couldn't see it going for more than 15B, it's already valued at more than it's worth TBH.

WB is overvalued also, if you break the 4 billion down by how many studios they have. It's way way too mch for what you're getting.

 

[SaucyJack]

You don't buy companies at market cap price. Often there is a 15-50% prenium in stock value.

And sometimes there's a discount. Depends on many things, market conditions, how well the target's market price reflects reality, how many parties are interested, who else is interested, how the deal is being paid for, etc, etc.

 

[OptimistPrime]

Disney paid $4B for all of Star Wars (film, TV, games, everything).

$4B is definitely enough to cover only the game rights for WB franchises.

 

[H . R . 2]

Do it Microsoft... maybe then Sony will wake up and start doing what they need to do!

Leyou games...what are they thinking!?

I don't think they can or they will turn all the WB titles into 1st party exclusives, they are much more profitable in their multiplatform state. but yes it would be a great investment for MS

 

[Thirty7ven]

Disney paid $4B for all of Star Wars (film, TV, games, everything).

$4B is definitely enough to cover only the game rights for WB franchises.

No one buying WBI will be buying the IPs, they would be buying a temporary license. Disney bought the IPs, it's different.

 

[SaucyJack]

I couldn't see it going for more than 15B, it's already valued at more than it's worth TBH.

WB is overvalued also, if you break the 4 billion down by how many studios they have. It's way way too mch for what you're getting.

Indeed. T2 has a P/E over 40. You would expect a company with a P/E that high showing a significant opportunity for growth, they had huge growth 2015-17 but it hasn't been sustained since then..

 

[CuteFaceJay]

I'm wanting to see a new F.E.A.R!

 

[OptimistPrime]

No one buying WBI will be buying the IPs, they would be buying a temporary license. Disney bought the IPs, it's different.

Im not saying it wouldn’t be a license, I’m talking about the value of such a thing. Given the price is $4B, there’s no way that doesn’t include the ability to use those WB IPs. $4B is more than enough to account for studios + the right to use the IP under some structure.

 

[VideodromeX]

Imagine if EA buys WB games and netx batman game will unlock all gadgets through credit card.

 

[R3claimer117]

I don't think they can or they will turn all the WB titles into 1st party exclusives, they are much more profitable in their multiplatform state. but yes it would be a great investment for MS

Microsoft is not buying WB and start making Batman for PlayStation. This is a game pass deal if you want to make the Netflix of gaming you need content and they need a lot of content to keep game pass viable. Sony doesn’t put spider man on Xbox that why it sold ten million plus. You think there aren’t people that own Xbox that want to play Spider-Man? If they make this purchase this will only be for Xbox and pc game pass subs going forward those games will appear on. The Minecraft thing is an anomaly for them but bear in mind they probably had deals with Sony to make that happen isn’t MLB the show suppose to be coming to Xbox consoles? That doesn’t happen if Sony doesn’t get Minecraft. Other then Minecraft there’s no major IP that Microsoft is going to make that will be on a Sony platform while Microsoft is still selling Xboxes.

 

[Javthusiast]

Join the Green Side! DC/Batman as MS exclusives would be glorious.

They would only get the studios, the ips are still Warner property and why would they ever wanna make those licenses exclusive if they can gain more money by releasing them on multiple platforms?

 

[quest]

They would only get the studios, the ips are still Warner property and why would they ever wanna make those licenses exclusive if they can gain more money by releasing them on multiple platforms?

Because the studios are worth shit with out the licences. They will part of any deal it won't be owning them but like a 5 or 10 year agreement.

 

[Griffon]

I don't want that to happen, because MS owning the Mortal Kombat IP would be the kiss of death for Killer Instinct.

I want a new KI damnit...

 

[R3claimer117]

They would only get the studios, the ips are still Warner property and why would they ever wanna make those licenses exclusive if they can gain more money by releasing them on multiple platforms?

Didn’t Spider-Man sell 10 million plus on one system? That’s more copies then the any Star Wars game that came from EA which has an exclusive license agreement and ships on all platforms. This argument doesn’t make sense cause If Microsoft got a multi year licensing agreement with this and pump out a quality game like spider man people will buy regardless of where it is. Especially with game pass the entry point to play all these games will be a phenomenal bargain.

 

[Hudo]

Imagine if EA buys WB games and netx batman game will unlock all gadgets through credit card.

And then they'll just close those studios after a couple of years anyway.

 

[Zato]

IP's wont be included, separate licensing agreements.

They are selling the studios.

They are going the lucasfilm / disney route.

 

[SaucyJack]

Didn’t Spider-Man sell 10 million plus on one system? That’s more copies then the any Star Wars game that came from EA which has an exclusive license agreement and ships on all platforms. This argument doesn’t make sense cause If Microsoft got a multi year licensing agreement with this and pump out a quality game like spider man people will buy regardless of where it is. Especially with game pass the entry point to play all these games will be a phenomenal bargain.

I think Spider-Man sold 13 million or thereabouts.

But Xbox hasn't had a 10 million selling exclusive game since 2007 (Halo 3) and IIRC I don't think they've had anything, across all 3 consoles, selling over 5 million that isn't a Halo game. So I'd be cautious about the potential for such a game.

None of the Arkham games got anywhere near 10 million despite being multi-platform.

 

[SaucyJack]

IP's wont be included, separate licensing agreements.

They are selling the studios.

They are going the lucasfilm / disney route.

They'd certainly like to go that direction. Whether they've got willing buyers remains to be seen.

 

[Zato]

I think Spider-Man sold 13 million or thereabouts.

But Xbox hasn't had a 10 million selling exclusive game since 2007 (Halo 3) and IIRC I don't think they've had anything, across all 3 consoles, selling over 5 million that isn't a Halo game. So I'd be cautious about the potential for such a game.

None of the Arkham games got anywhere near 10 million despite being multi-platform.

And there it is.

 

[Stuart360]

Didn’t Spider-Man sell 10 million plus on one system? That’s more copies then the any Star Wars game that came from EA which has an exclusive license agreement and ships on all platforms.

Er yeah thats not true. Both Battlefronts had sold 33mil copies by October 2019. The first Battlefront sold over 20mil copies alone.

EA's Battlefront games are huge successes with 33 million copies sold

Despite the lootbox controversy, EA's Star Wars games managed to sell over 30 million copies.

www.tweaktown.com

 

[SaucyJack]

Er yeah thats not true. Both Battlefronts had sold 33mil copies by October 2019. The first Battlefront sold over 20mil copies alone.

EA's Battlefront games are huge successes with 33 million copies sold

Despite the lootbox controversy, EA's Star Wars games managed to sell over 30 million copies.

www.tweaktown.com

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has also topped 10 million

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order tops 10 million copies sold

Electronic Arts said that Respawn Entertainment's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has sold more than10 million copies since it debuted last fall.

venturebeat.com

 

[theclaw135]

IP's wont be included, separate licensing agreements.

They are selling the studios.

They are going the lucasfilm / disney route.

Being more open to license out their older IP's is a start. WB has barely done anything with half of what they own, besides toss games into places like Midway Arcade Origins.

 

[Hendrick's]

No way anyone is spending billions on this and not getting IP.

 

[R3claimer117]

Er yeah thats not true. Both Battlefronts had sold 33mil copies by October 2019. The first Battlefront sold over 20mil copies alone.

EA's Battlefront games are huge successes with 33 million copies sold

Despite the lootbox controversy, EA's Star Wars games managed to sell over 30 million copies.

www.tweaktown.com

I stand corrected then.

 

[Gavon West]

TakeTwo are 14 Billion...... Sony has 31 Billion in Cash on hand alone. They could do it, not likely to spend that much though, even for MS it's a huge acquisition.

Huge acquisition, sure. But not nearly as big a hit financially for MS. Phil probably has that lying in a damn cookie jar somewhere.

 

[Bryank75]

Huge acquisition, sure. But not nearly as big a hit financially for MS. Phil probably has that lying in a damn cookie jar somewhere.

Well it's funny to picture such things but it's still a good chunk of their cash pile for the entire company. Well over 10%.... for a business that is not critical to Microsofts success.

But of course they could do it with ease.

 

[On Demand]

Youre trying a little too hard not to see the big picture here, bud. Microsoft absolutely has the money to do a deal like this. If they didnt, they wouldnt be part of the bidding brigade to begin with. They have $172 billion - just sitting on it. You ask me; $172 billion is pretty much unlimited spending money. You couldnt spend that much money in five life times.

I'm not trying hard to do anything nor did i say MS didn't have the money. Alot of companies have money to spend. Sony has money also to buy if they wanted to (just like i told the other poster, don't tell me the MS war chest crap). They have 30 billion COH which is continuing to increase

Sony Cash on Hand 2006-2020 | SNE

Sony cash on hand from 2006 to 2020. Cash on hand can be defined as cash deposits at financial institutions that can immediately be withdrawn at any time, and investments maturing in one year or less that are highly liquid and therefore regarded as cash equivalents and reported with or near cash...

www.macrotrends.net

Just because you have the money doesn't mean you should spend it wildly or that it even makes sense.

This is where you people touting MS's money are not understanding. Yes they have 172 billion that doesn't mean it's available to freely spend. They didn't get that cash on hand by randomly buying expensive things. 172 billion in the corporate world is not the same as having it as a individual person. There are limits to spending in business. That's why i think even though they're interested, who isn't really, they will not be making this purchase. Because of many other reasons too.

If licenses are included with the acquisitions, it would absolutely be worth it. And MS could definitely pay that $4 billion in cash if they needed to. Whats happening now has alot of potential of happening as WB is actually up for bid. This is no rumor. Literally the only reason MS wont get it (if they choose) is if they just simply didnt find it worth the investment once all the details were laid out. But they can do it. No doubt. Easily.

I don't think the license are included. They have to be renegotiated by WB. The parent company.

Any billion dollar company can make big purchases easily.

 

[Gavon West]

I'm not trying hard to do anything nor did i say MS didn't have the money. Alot of companies have money to spend. Sony has money also to buy if they wanted to (just like i told the other poster, don't tell me the MS war chest crap). They have 30 billion COH which is continuing to increase

Sony Cash on Hand 2006-2020 | SNE

Sony cash on hand from 2006 to 2020. Cash on hand can be defined as cash deposits at financial institutions that can immediately be withdrawn at any time, and investments maturing in one year or less that are highly liquid and therefore regarded as cash equivalents and reported with or near cash...

www.macrotrends.net

Just because you have the money doesn't mean you should spend it wildly or that it even makes sense.

This is where you people touting MS's money are not understanding. Yes they have 172 billion that doesn't mean it's available to freely spend. They didn't get that cash on hand by randomly buying expensive things. 172 billion in the corporate world is not the same as having it as a individual person. There are limits to spending in business. That's why i think even though they're interested, who isn't really, they will not be making this purchase. Because of many other reasons too.



I don't think the license are included. They have to be renegotiated by WB. The parent company.

Any billion dollar company can make big purchases easily.

They wouldnt be in the ring if they werent interested, if they werent fully prepared to purchase should that opportunity present itself. You act like Phil and Nadella were out on a windy walk and saw an auction on their way to the flee market.

And please dont mention Sony and their $30 billion. They arent even there. C'mon broski!

 

[EverydayBeast]

You have to position yourself to win generations and acquiring studios does that ask SONY.

 

[eastwood333]

If MS buy the sudio, it doesn't mean they'd make the games exclusive, that's not business, that's fanboyism

That's stupid. Just like Sony, MS would buy the studios to bolster there own products and ecosystem. That's like saying Sony buying Insomniac to only make games for the PS5 is not business. Or locking Spidermand to PS only is not business.Of course it's business. MS wants to entice people to buy there products and services.

MS wants to build up its library on Gamepass by having heavy hitters releasing every few months or so to keep people engaged and subscribed on it. But also to buy into Xbox/PC and their ecosystem.

My belief is that any future games made by these studios would be Xbox/PC exclusive and the only way to play them on a PS5 is via Gamepass. That way MS has their platform/ecosystem on PS5.

 

[oldergamer]

I disagree.
Yes, 4 billion is too much and without IP's it makes even less sense (but we got two reports: one said 4 billion and second said around 2 billion).
But creating new studios from scratch and poaching all the staff? That sounds even worse
1. you would need to make sure, all the staff are going with you and nobody can guarantee you that
2. you would lost all potential IP's in that deal (like Mortal Kombat)
3. creating a studio is pretty difficult thing to do. You would need to create new production pipelines, studio culture and team ethic and you are risking that not all staff will come with you and it will all collapse. Why do you think Microsoft is expanding their current studios (like Playground Games) with second teams and not creating new one's? Because it is easier and not that financially demanding thing to do. Also it will naturally delay all productions and it will probably kill all the projects currently in development (Rocksteady is making Suicide Squad, WB Montreal Batman, Avalanche is making Harry Potter game...).

So instead working around a deal and for example have a clause, that you can release all their current games on Game Pass day one and then move them to different projects (while cashing on success of their current games) you would start from scratch, with no games in production, with "promise" that you can pouch all the staff. Not very wise.

Only negative thing from this acquisition is that many people will loose their jobs because of job overlaps. But that's also true for EA, Take-Two and Activision. It looks like Warner will shut whole thing down if it won't sell and I would want to see next Rocksteady/Monolith games.

The actual original deal was 2.3 Billion. It was later reported as 4 Billion via rumor. However there is nothing to back that number. A WB/DC license could run into the billions if its a multi year deal ( which it would have to be, and WB parent company would have to be dumb to turn down money for that. )

 

[eastwood333]

Folks need to step back a bit. There's not really any credible intelligence in the business media that suggests that Microsoft are interested, it sounds like forum talk picked up by gaming websites. Of course Microsoft could easily afford it, so could Sony btw, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen.

Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment (the gaming division) is a subsidiary of WarnerMedia which is itself owned by AT&T. AT&T are reported (original report by CNBC) to be seeking a $4 billion sale of this division. The reason for this sale is the debt taken on from the TimeWarner acquisition and a need to reduce that given the current financial climate. The CNBC names Activision, EA, T2 and Ubisoft as being in discussions.

WBIE has 11 subsidiaries, some of which are multiple studios:

• Avalanche Software
• Monolith Productions
• NetherRealm Studios
• Portkey Games
• Rocksteady Studios
• TT Games
• WB Games Boston
• WB Games Montréal
• WB Games New York
• WB Games San Diego
• WB Games San Francisco

Disposing this makes sense for WB, these studios cost a lot to operate, consume capital and are not that profitable. If they can offload these studios they can instead milk their ip (WB owns DC) through licensing arrangements at far lower risk and working capital requirement. But just because it makes sense for WB doesn't mean it makes sense for potential buyers. WBIE is heavily dependent on licensed properties most of which WB doesn't own, so there's no guarantee they'd continue - and the ones they do own aren't up for sale. But major game studios have been moving away from a dependence on licensed properties.

From a Xbox/PlayStation perspective this acquisition would basically double the size of their first party studios (and bear in mind that Xbox has basically doubled already in the last couple of years) and that in itself would pretty transformative and there would be many management and logistical issues involved. If either party were to do this then they would really have to keep it as an independent multi-platform publisher or the economics of the deal would be fucked.

At $4 billion it's a big pill to swallow and the pool of potential buyers for such a huge acquisition is understandably small. I think they'll spend a couple of years not getting very far with this and then follow a far more logical course of action IMHO would be for AT&T to sell off the studios individually and gradually wind down WBIE. The pool of buyers for individual studios would be much larger and increase their chances of getting a good price.

Um....outside of like 4/5 of those studios, the others are very small and more of a supportive role type teams. The publishing side would be broken up. Some of those supportive teams would be broken up and offered positions at other studios within MS Games Studios.

You're getting Rocksteady, Mononith, Avalanche Studios, WB Montreal, Netherrealm and probably long term licensing ip rights out of a deal of this magnitude. MS could also do what SE did with iOi (hitman devs)and allow them to go off indendependly. So you're getting about 4/5 large studios, 4 of which are elite studios. MS is still well short of Sony in the 1st party department.

The deal makes sense for MS given they're pushing Gamepass in a very big way and are going to need the content to keep it going.

 

[SaucyJack]

Um....outside of like 4/5 of those studios, the others are very small and more of a supportive role type teams. The publishing side would be broken up. Some of those supportive teams would be broken up and offered positions at other studios within MS Games Studios.

You're getting Rocksteady, Mononith, Avalanche Studios, WB Montreal, Netherrealm and probably long term licensing ip rights out of a deal of this magnitude. MS could also do what SE did with iOi (hitman devs)and allow them to go off indendependly. So you're getting about 4/5 large studios, 4 of which are elite studios. MS is still well short of Sony in the 1st party department.

The deal makes sense for MS given they're pushing Gamepass in a very big way and are going to need the content to keep it going.

There's no way that the financials of a $4 billion acquisition works if the reason is providing Gamepass content.

The only way this deal works financially is if you want to run it as a multi-platform publisher.

MS are better served cherry picking studios in a break-up scenario rather than a wholesale acquisition.

 

[eastwood333]

There's no way that the financials of a $4 billion acquisition works if the reason is providing Gamepass content.

The only way this deal works financially is if you want to run it as a multi-platform publisher.

MS are better served cherry picking studios in a break-up scenario rather than a wholesale acquisition.

I disagree. Xbox/PC/Steam is plenty of platforms for MS. And it also keeps those games away from any future Apple,Amazon, Google,Facebook platforms. The goal for MS is to get people buying/engaged in THEIR platforms/ecosystem. You get people into your platforms/ecosystems by offering great 1st party content. Something Nintendo and Sony figured out long ago. MS will allow PS5 gamers to play those games only via Gamepass on PS5. That's how MS gets Sony gamers on their platform/ecosystem

It's not just about Xbox/Gamepass. I still think MS has a strong desire in the PC space. I think MS wants to push Windows Gaming hard again in the near future.

 

[Skyfox]

Nintendo should buy it.

 

[On Demand]

They wouldnt be in the ring if they werent interested, if they werent fully prepared to purchase should that opportunity present itself. You act like Phil and Nadella were out on a windy walk and saw an auction on their way to the flee market.

And please dont mention Sony and their $30 billion. They arent even there. C'mon broski!

Interested doesn't mean 100% buy. They're could just looking into what the selling of WB entails.

MS 172B and Sony's 30B are both spending money. What do you mean don't mention Sony. How convenient for your argument. Haha.

Or should i bring up something more directly gaming related that would affect who buys WB? Especially is regards to audience purchasing power?

PSN Alone Generated More Revenue Than the Entirety of Nintendo in 2018

Online network also bigger than Microsoft's entire gaming division

www.pushsquare.com

That's a big potential audience being cut off if MS buys WB. Which i'm sure things like this are definitely being looked into with WB possibly being up for sale. A 3rd party publisher would be a better buyer in that case.


Or should i not mention this either?

 

[quest]

The actual original deal was 2.3 Billion. It was later reported as 4 Billion via rumor. However there is nothing to back that number. A WB/DC license could run into the billions if its a multi year deal ( which it would have to be, and WB parent company would have to be dumb to turn down money for that. )

If it is over 2 billion it has to include DC IPs. Sony set the market with insomniac at 230 million only rocksteady is at that caliber. I don't see how this is worth over 1.5 billion including the non movie IPs. If they want more they need to include the dc type IPs on a multi year deal. Even with out the IPs if they can get the studios for around 1.5 with non DC type IP it be a great way to cement the first party and gamepass.

 

[Gavon West]

That's stupid. Just like Sony, MS would buy the studios to bolster there own products and ecosystem. That's like saying Sony buying Insomniac to only make games for the PS5 is not business. Or locking Spidermand to PS only is not business.Of course it's business. MS wants to entice people to buy there products and services.

MS wants to build up its library on Gamepass by having heavy hitters releasing every few months or so to keep people engaged and subscribed on it. But also to buy into Xbox/PC and their ecosystem.

My belief is that any future games made by these studios would be Xbox/PC exclusive and the only way to play them on a PS5 is via Gamepass. That way MS has their platform/ecosystem on PS5.

Sony wont allow GP on their system. You can let that one go. Outside of that, PC, Steam and Xcloud pretty much gives them alot of real estate to cover. I agree that if MS buy's these studios a good majority of them would be to bolster their ecosystem exclusively. People may not like the thought but its truth.

 

[SaucyJack]

I disagree. Xbox/PC/Steam is plenty of platforms for MS. And it also keeps those games away from any future Apple,Amazon, Google,Facebook platforms. The goal for MS is to get people buying/engaged in THEIR platforms/ecosystem. You get people into your platforms/ecosystems by offering great 1st party content. Something Nintendo and Sony figured out long ago.

You can disagree through your green tinted lenses all you want, the numbers still don't add up. You're viewing this as a fan, I'm looking at it objectively as a corporate finance professional.