After months of speculation with Activision and Take Two looking as likely buyers, it turns out that parent company AT&T is not selling their gaming division after all, at least not yet. On August 7th CEO Jason Kilar sent an email to all staff explaining how the company was to be restructured but specifically mentioned that the gaming arm was staying put.
The Warner Bros. Motion Pictures Group continues to be led by Chairman Toby Emmerich. Warner Bros. Television Studios group continues to be led by Chairman Peter Roth. Warner Bros. Interactive remains part of the Studios and Networks group, along with our Global Brands and Franchises team including DC led by Pam Lifford, and our Kids, Young Adults and Classics business led by Tom Ascheim, all focused on engaging fans with our brands and franchises through games and other interactive experiences.
The message also explains that the HBO Max streaming service will be expanded globally, good news for those who want to watch the four hour Snyder cut of Justice League when it debuts on the service.
AT&T have been looking at ways to cut costs and it seems rather than sell off a specific group they going to perform a major restructure and cut staff numbers instead. That doesn’t mean Rocksteady, NeatherRealm, TT Games and the other studios are safe, but it does seem the sale is off for the moment. There may have been complications in negotiations as many of the games from the studio are based on Warner Bros. properties such as the Lego movie or DC comics.
That’s not to say a sale may occur in the future, AT&T still need to raise a lot of cash to cover a $200 billion debt, but Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment always seemed an odd choice for sale when everyone knew Rocksteady had a major title in the works and the pandemic has seen demand for video games surge. The near future of video games looks positively rosy when compared to that of movie studios.
The news comes just days after Rocksteady Studios confirmed that it is working on a Suicide Squad game, and that it will be releasing more information on August 22nd at DC Fandome. The news came via a tweet on the official Rocksteady Studios Twitter with a poster showing the Suicide Squad logo acting as a target placed squarely on Superman’s head. It seems the Suicide Squad will be battling the Man of Steel, and it could also mean the rest of the Justice League is involved in some way.
Target locked – #DCFanDome – August 22. #suicidesquadgame pic.twitter.com/HrXZNKwo0f
— Rocksteady Studios (@RocksteadyGames) August 7, 2020
Source: WarnerMedia
