Warner Bros to focus on free-to-start, mobile and live service titles

Eurogamer wrote:Warner Bros. Discovery gaming boss J.B. Perrette wants the company to move away from the "volatile" market of AAA games for consoles.

Speaking during a recent Morgan Stanley event, Perrette said the company would combat volatility by focusing on its biggest franchises and bringing some to the mobile and free-to-play space in addition to live-service games. The aim is more consistent revenue.

Warner Bros. Discovery gaming boss J.B. Perrette wrote:"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?"

Eurogamer wrote:Perrette's comments also mirror those of WBD CEO David Zaslav who outlined in November the company's plans to focus on "always on" live service games.

Source: Eurogamer

The big publishers really do want ongoing expenditure; the days of single-player, "complete-at-launch" games could be going out of focus.

Hogwarts Legacy, a one and done console game, sold 24million copies.

Suicide Squad, a live-service game has flopped.

And this is their takeaway?!

Tomous wrote:Hogwarts Legacy, a one and done console game, sold 24million copies.

Suicide Squad, a live-service game has flopped.

And this is their takeaway?!

The capitalist mindset does not capitulate to evidence.

That is just objectively stupid

Good. The sooner these companies and their live service obsession all strawberry float off the sooner we can play games by actual developers with ideas rather than some publisher mandated content farm.

Must be nice for all the devs who got into the business to make console games that will now all be forcefully pivoted to free-to-play mobile trash.
God I'm strawberry floating done with capitalism ruining everything.

The AAA market is volatile largely due to publishers like them, flipping titles to chase fads and difficult markets, years after the bubble bursts or it gets oversaturated.

They switched Suicide Squad from a single player game to a live service one, thinking this was where the wine was blowing and there was a constant money stream. Turned out, that wind has died down by release date, and the streets were strewn with the corpses of big AAA love service games that had tried to copy the Destiny model and failed.

Would Suicide Squad have faired better had it been a few years earlier and had been focused on providing a single player experience akin to the Arkham games? Well, it could hardly have done much worse and would have presumably had a lower budget too.

Tomous wrote:Hogwarts Legacy, a one and done console game, sold 24million copies.

Suicide Squad, a live-service game has flopped.

And this is their takeaway?!

You make a good point, Tomous, although I fear that the reason is - as James Stephanie Sterling often now says - big game companies don't just want to make money; they want to make ALL of the money. A few million quid isn't enough any more - they see things like Fortnite and CoD and think that every game must be like that... other approaches just aren't worth it.

Parksey wrote: big AAA love service games.

Was Margot Robbie in this Suicide Squad game? I might have to check it out.

Also, the f2p market is famously under-satured without any volatility.

Everyone wants their fortnite but there's only so much space.

Yeah, everyone is trying to compete for that Fortnite money despite people only having limited time to spend on games :lol:

I steer well clear of all that F2P/Live Service stuff, just give me my single player adventures :toot:

This is dumb. Please some one take away their DC and Harry Potter licences.

Which would be almost impossible as they are a big part of the WB Movies/TV catalogues.

Hogwarts Legacy 2 would be probably down the shitter too.

Winckle wrote:
Parksey wrote: big AAA love service games.

Was Margot Robbie in this Suicide Squad game? I might have to check it out.

She isn’t in the game but the Harley Quinn certainly looks like Margot Robbie's Quinn.

Wedgie wrote:
Winckle wrote:
Parksey wrote: big AAA love service games.

Was Margot Robbie in this Suicide Squad game? I might have to check it out.

She isn’t in the game but the Harley Quinn certainly looks like Margot Robbie's Quinn.

This sounds filthy.

Wedgie wrote:Hogwarts Legacy 2 would be probably down the shitter too.

This would be a huge shame, i absolutely adored that game.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:
Wedgie wrote:
Winckle wrote:
Parksey wrote: big AAA love service games.

Was Margot Robbie in this Suicide Squad game? I might have to check it out.

She isn’t in the game but the Harley Quinn certainly looks like Margot Robbie's Quinn.

This sounds filthy.

Warner Bros to focus on free-to-start, mobile and live service titles

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