Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav acknowledged that the company experienced massive financial losses this year due to a variety of factors.
He revealed that these include the underperformance of its fighting game MultiVersus as well as other inconsistencies. Another example of this is the commercial failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League as well as the movie Joker: Folie a Deux.
Warner Bros. Games' Financial Loss
Zaslav also said that Warner Bros.' games business was not meeting its true potential, noting that this inconsistency is also an issue in various divisions.
He added that Warner Bros. Games revenue dropped by 31% between July and September this year compared to last year.
This was the same time last year when Mortal Kombat 1 was released and MultiVersus is suffering from a major shortcoming.
Zaslav said that the company took more than $100 million in loss because of its various underperforming releases. This quarter was primarily affected by MultiVersus, according to Game Spot.
This contributed to the more than $300 million financial loss that Warner Bros.' game business lost year-to-date. Chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said that this was a key factor in the company's studio profit decline this year.
The situation comes as the Warner Bros. Discovery game division has had a relatively successful year in 2023. This was primarily due to the popularity of Hogwarts Legacy which became the best-selling game in the U.S. last year.
MultiVersus' underperformance comes after Warner Bros. Games acquired the game from developer Player First Games in July 2024. The game relaunched on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, IGN said.
Underperformance of MultiVersus
Games director Tony Huynh said at the time of the acquisition that their team was excited to join the Warner Bros. Games family. He added that they were working to ensure that the game can give players an experience that makes them feel it is worth it.
Warner Bros. Games' loss also comes despite it releasing Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions during the third quarter of this year. The Harry Potter-based game that focuses on the popular in-universe game failed to make a big splash among fans of the franchise.
Zaslav believes that the company has already been through the worst, noting that they still have four titles that are performing really well. The CEO said that they will shift their focus to these games primarily moving forward.
He also said that the company would shift away from its usual goal of trying to release more games in a short period of time. The four titles in question are Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC, according to Insider Gaming.
