Warner Bros. Games

Warner Bros. Games
	File:Warner Bros. Games logo.svg Logo used since rebranding from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Company type	Division
Industry	Video games
Founded	January 14, 2004; 22 years ago in Burbank, California, United States
Headquarters	Burbank, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	David Haddad (President)
Products	Video games
Parent	Warner Bros. Discovery
Website	www.wbgames.com

Warner Bros. Games (previously known as Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) is a United States-based video game publisher located in Burbank, California. Established on January 14, 2004, as a Warner Bros. division, it oversees fully owned development teams such as TT Games, Rocksteady Studios, NetherRealm Studios, WB Games Boston, Avalanche Software, and WB Games Montréal.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Formed in 2004 alongside the WB Games brand, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) named Jason Hall, formerly with Monolith Productions, as senior vice president. Prior to this, Warner Bros. Consumer Products had utilized the WBIE name since 1995 for licensing purposes. WBIE's debut publication was Looney Tunes: Back in Action, released in collaboration with Electronic Arts in 2003. In August 2004, Warner Bros. made its initial internal developer acquisition by purchasing Monolith Productions.

By 2005, WBIE independently published its inaugural game, Friends: The One with All the Trivia, distributed via Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. That same year, WBIE merged into Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and secured a North American distribution agreement with British publisher Codemasters. In December 2006, Warner Bros. acquired a 10.3% stake in SCi Entertainment (owner of Eidos Interactive), obtaining licenses for DC Comics properties and other franchises.

In 2007, WBIE initiated a five-year growth plan centered on acquisitions and internal studio development, acquiring UK-based TT Games for £100 million, which included Traveller's Tales and TT Fusion studios. By 2008, Warner Bros. had increased its investment in SCi to 35%, gaining North American distribution rights for Eidos titles.

The year 2009 saw Warner acquiring Snowblind Studios along with the majority of assets from the bankrupt Midway Games for $49 million, inheriting franchises such as Mortal Kombat, Joust, and Spy Hunter. Midway's Chicago facility was rebranded as WB Games Chicago.

In 2010, WBIE obtained exclusive global publishing rights for Sesame Street video games and purchased a controlling interest in London-based Rocksteady Studios, renowned for the successful Batman: Arkham franchise. Additionally, WB Games Montréal was established under Martin Tremblay to focus on DC Comics-inspired games. That year also included acquiring Turbine, Inc., creators of MMOs like The Lord of the Rings Online, which transitioned to a free-to-play model under Warner’s management. The Chicago studio was renamed NetherRealm Studios and launched a reboot of Mortal Kombat in 2011 led by series creator Ed Boon.

Due to THQ’s financial difficulties affecting distribution partnerships with Codemasters between 2011 and 2012, leadership changes followed in 2013 when Diane Nelson was appointed President and Chief Content Officer by CEO Kevin Tsujihara. David Haddad joined as Executive Vice President and General Manager in 2015 before advancing to President.

In October 2016, AT&T announced its intention to acquire Time Warner, bringing WBIE under AT&T’s ownership. Later that year, development and publishing responsibilities for The Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online were transferred to Standing Stone Games and Daybreak Game Company respectively; Turbine shifted focus towards mobile game development.

Early in 2017, Warner reacquired Avalanche Software from Disney Interactive Studios with John Blackburn installed as CEO; their initial release was Cars 3: Driven to Win. TT Games expanded its mobile presence by acquiring Playdemic to grow Lego titles on mobile platforms. In July 2018, WBIE purchased Plexchat through its San Francisco studio to improve social features within mobile games.

Speculation arose mid-2020 about AT&T considering divesting WBIE for around $4 billion amid corporate restructuring; however, WarnerMedia confirmed that WBIE would remain part of its Studios and Networks division. Bloomberg subsequently reported that AT&T decided against selling following changes in executive leadership.

Transition to Warner Bros. Games

In May 2021, AT&T revealed plans to spin off WarnerMedia in a $43 billion transaction, merging it with Discovery, Inc. As part of this arrangement, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) was retained and rebranded as Warner Bros. Games under the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery entity. Playdemic was divested in September 2021, sold to Electronic Arts for $1.4 billion. By April 2022, Warner Bros. Games underwent restructuring alongside HBO Max and Discovery+ into the division named Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming & Interactive Entertainment, led by JB Perrette, with WB Games president David Haddad reporting directly to him. The merger finalized on April 8.

In July 2024, Warner Bros. Games expanded its portfolio by acquiring Player First Games, the studio behind MultiVersus. That same month, SAG-AFTRA launched a labor strike targeting several video game publishers, including WB Games, demanding enhanced AI-related protections for voice actors.

During the third quarter of 2024 financial disclosures, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels announced that disappointing performance from MultiVersus and Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions resulted in an additional $100 million loss within the games division for 2024, adding to a previous $200 million impairment charge. Zaslav emphasized a strategic pivot focusing on four key franchises moving forward.

By February 2025, Warner Bros. Games confirmed the shutdown of Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego. In June 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery declared a reorganization of Warner Bros. Games to concentrate efforts on the DC Universe, Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, and Game of Thrones. This segment will be integrated into the Streaming & Studios division following the anticipated corporate split planned for mid-2026. Yves Lachance of WB Games Montreal will oversee projects related to Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, while Shaun Himmerick from NetherRealm will manage titles within the DC Universe and Mortal Kombat franchises.

Publishing imprints

Portkey Games, launched in 2017 as the dedicated publishing label for titles set in the Wizarding World universe.

Development studios

Avalanche Software, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, originally founded in 1995; acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2005; closed in 2016; later purchased and reopened by WBIE in January 2017.
NetherRealm Studios, based in Chicago, established as Midway Studios Chicago in 1988; acquired in 2009; rebranded in 2010.
Rocksteady Studios, situated in London, founded in 2004; majority ownership obtained in February 2010.
TT Games, headquartered in Knutsford, England, founded in 2005; acquired November 2007.
- Traveller's Tales, operating out of Knutsford since 1989; reorganized as TT Games’ principal development unit in 2005.
- TT Fusion, located in Wilmslow, England; founded as Embryonic Studios in 2005; integrated into TT Games by 2007.
- TT Games Publishing based in Bristol, England; originally Giant Interactive Entertainment (established 2003); incorporated under TT Games management since 2005.
- TT Odyssey, established January 2018 as TT Games Brighton; renamed March 2018; located in Brighton.
WB Games Montréal in Montreal, founded in 2010.
WB Games Boston situated in Needham, Massachusetts, founded in 1994; acquired by WBIE in 2010.
WB Games New York based in Troy, New York; formerly Agora Games (founded 2005); acquired and renamed in 2017.
WB Games San Francisco, established in 2013.

Former Development Studios

Snowblind Studios (Kirkland, Washington), established in 1997, purchased in 2009, integrated into Monolith Productions by 2012.
Surreal Software (Kirkland, Washington), launched in 1995, acquired from Midway Games in 2009, consolidated with Monolith Productions in 2010.
Playdemic (Manchester, England), founded in 2010, bought in 2017, divested to Electronic Arts as of June 2021.
Monolith Productions (Kirkland, Washington), created in 1994, acquired in 2004, discontinued in February 2025.
Player First Games (Los Angeles), founded in 2019, obtained in July 2024, ceased operations by February 2025.
WB Games San Diego (San Diego), established in 2019, closed down in February 2025.

Additional Holdings

WB Games holds ownership of the intellectual properties and assets formerly belonging to Midway Games, Bally Manufacturing, Williams Electronics, and Atari Games.

External Resources