The recent statement by the head of Warner Bros. Discovery, Jay B. Perretta, regarding games has caught the attention of major western publication Dualshockers. Perretta announced that the company plans to shift away from AAA games in favor of service, mobile, and free-to-play games.
Dualshockers criticized this decision, pointing out that Warner Bros. seems disconnected from reality. Despite the success of their best-selling single-player AAA game, Hogwarts: Legacy, the company is venturing into the highly competitive service and F2P segments, where many major publishers are vying for market share. The market is saturated with service games, and numerous titles, such as Knockout City, Marvel’s Avengers, CrossfireX, and Apex Legends Mobile, have failed in 2023.
The article questions Warner Bros.’ confidence in succeeding in service games, especially given their track record of failures in this area, such as Suicide Squad, Gotham Knights, and Back 4 Blood. The company cleverly attributes these failures to the AAA segment in front of investors, despite the fact that they are fundamentally different from single-player AAA games like Hogwarts: Legacy.
Despite the potential of the free-to-play and service market, the success of Hogwarts: Legacy should have signaled to Warner Bros. that players desire narrative-driven single-player adventures. Betting on service games is riskier than investing in single-player games, as the majority of studios are now focusing on or planning to release service games, according to a report by GamesIndustry.biz.
Players have made it clear that they want quality narrative games based on their favorite franchises, but Warner Bros. seems to think otherwise, causing confusion among players and journalists alike.
Post from www.playground.ru