Warner Bros. (WB) has said that it wants to “transform” its biggest franchises into live service games that aren’t limited to console and PC. In a recent earnings call, WB Discovery CEO David Zaslav that the company wants to attract more players across more platforms.
WB Games is happy with Mortal Kombat 1 sales amid criticisms of excessive monetization
Zaslav told investors that WB’s live service efforts are paying off, with Mortal Kombat 1 selling three million copies since launch in mid-September. The game has come under fire repeatedly for its excessive microtransactions, which include expensive premium fatalities.
“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,” Zaslav said (transcript via SeekingAlpha). “Ultimately, we want to drive engagement and monetization of longer cycles and at higher levels.”
WB said that it has a treasure trove of billion-dollar gaming properties, including Harry Potter and Batman, and it wants to utilize them to its advantage. “We are currently under scale and see significant opportunity to generate greater post purchase revenue,” Zaslav concluded.
