An earthquake in the world of entertainment
Netflix and Warner Bros. first reached an agreement to enter an exclusive negotiation phase, which excluded other participants. According to The Wrap, Netflix would have made the largest offer with $30 per share, while aligning with Paramount with a breakup fee of $5 billion in the event of failure. This was confirmed a few hours later with the formalization of the buyout, to the tune of $87.2 billion.
After several auctions, Netflix was favored by David Zaslav (CEO of Warner Bros) and company, and we are now waiting to know if the regulatory bodies will approve this takeoversince it threatens Hollywood as a whole, an increasingly consolidated environment. The New York Post also reveals that several White House officials are beginning to meet to contest this acquisition. Where the takeover by Paramount would undoubtedly have gone like a letter to the post office, given that the Ellison family is a great ally of Donald Trump.
Like Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-King, we can expect this acquisition to be highly contested. Warner Bros is one of the largest Hollywood studios in history, which is important for movie theaters. As evidenced by this year 2025 where he has had a series of successes on the big screens, from Superman has Minecraftpassing through Sinners And Weapons. Selling this company to the largest streaming service, which does not release any films in theaters, is bound to be problematic for the entire industry.
What future for games?
Beyond what this means for cinema or streaming services like HBO, this acquisition will also have an impact on the world of video games. Because Warner Bros Games has been in danger for quite a few years now apart from a few successes like Hogwarts Legacyand Netflix has largely calmed its ambitions in the industry, reversing its production of AAA titles to focus on mobile.
In the press release acknowledging the buyout, Netflix never mentions the video game division. Only licenses are mentioned, as Harry Potter Or Squid Game. Not a word on the future of Warner Bros Games therefore, even though it was already in a bad situation. What is certain, it is that the editor is well included in the lotunlike Discovery which is excluded.
In any case, none of this smells good for Warner Bros. Games, which will still face a change of direction. It is now inevitable that layoffs will be announced in several divisions of the group, and the video game section will undoubtedly not be spared. It remains to be seen what Netflix plans to do with the games Batman, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat and company.