Warner Bros. Doubles Down On Live-Service Games Again

Warner Bros reaffirmed its stance on double down on live-service games, as part of a recent investors’ briefing. This is despite the fact that its own Hogwarts Legacy is the number-one bestselling game of 2023 so far.

In Warner Bros.’ Q3 earnings call, CEO David Zaslav explained, “Our focus is on 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.”

He continued, “Ultimately we want to drive engagement and monetization of longer cycles and at higher levels. We have put specific capabilities. We are currently under scale and see significant opportunity to generate greater post purchase revenue.”

Zaslav also said that Hogwarts Legacy is the bestselling game of the year so far, and this is even before the Switch version comes out next week. Additionally, Mortal Kombat 1 has sold almost three million copies since its launch in September.

One of Warner Bros.’s next games, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League received negative responses due to its live-service nature when it was showcased during one of PlayStation’s State of Play presentations. It was originally supposed to be released on May 26 of this year. However, it was delayed to February 2, 2024.

The game is being developed by Rocksteady, the studio behind the Batman: Arkham series. It is considered canon within the same universe but takes place in Metropolis rather than Gotham. The story centers around Task Force X, aka the Suicide Squad. The group is assigned to fight the Justice League after the heroes are brainwashed by Brainiac. Late voice actor Kevin Conroy has one of his final performances as Batman in this game.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will launch for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.