After the huge critical and commercial success that was Hogwarts Legacy, its sequel could be radically different. Warner Bros. Games has indeed decided to change its strategy… and not necessarily for the better.
The American giant which holds the rights to adapt Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, DC Comics and Harry Potter has thus made a radical decision. Perette, CEO of Warner Bros. Games, made this known during a conference held last night. If his new strategy is to be believed, things don't look so good for Hogwarts Legacy 2…
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An unrecognizable Hogwarts Legacy 2? It's a bad start…
Regarding Warner Bros. Games, a little context is in order. Due to a colossal portfolio in terms of intellectual property, the American giant has participated in the publishing of excellent titles. Among the most beautiful creations bearing the Warner label, we have the Arkham game series, and more recently Hogwarts Legacy. This was one of the biggest hits of 2023, exceeding 20 million sales. A performance that can easily be described as magical! Warner Bros. Games, however, are also huge failures, the latest being Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and a promising MultiVersus mysteriously withdrawn from the market.
You probably understand the parallel. On the one hand, we have extremely strong and promising solo experiences, which have enjoyed both esteem and exemplary commercial success. On the other hand, we have free to play service games, which, by Warner's investors' own admission, do not have “failed to meet company expectations”. And guess what the company's CEO has chosen to do for the future of its video game catalog? Just: no more free to play games and service games/mobile games! According to him, AAA game development is too “unstable”. The hospital that throws an Avada Kedavra on the ambulance?
“ A clear growth opportunity thanks to this new strategy »
“ We believe there is an opportunity for us and our four flagship franchises to develop a more holistic approach. We need to expand to cross-platform mobile and free-to-play experiences. This could provide us with more consistent sources of income. You will also soon see our first free to play mobile games released soon. Secondly, we want to focus on service games, rather than launching a game with a finite lifespan and a very long development cycle. Wouldn't it be fun to have a game like Hogwarts Legacy as a service, where people can come and live, work and play on a regular basis?D ? », said the CEO of Warner Bros. Games.
“So we have the franchises, extremely talented studios, a roadmap and a strategic investment plan. All that remains is to build the business, and we expect to see clear growth over the coming years”, he concludes. Let's really hope, especially for the sake of the talented studios in question, that the man is absolutely not wrong on all counts. The future will tell…
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