Recent reports suggest WB Interactive Entertainment’s parent company AT&T is looking to sell its WB Games division. While the details are neither clear nor confirmed, these same reports indicate the likes of Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and Take-Two Interactive are all considering the purchase. EA’s COO, Blake Jorgensen, added fuel to the fire during a financial earnings presentation. While the executive didn’t explicitly mention the supposed WB Games sale, he did note that EA is “more interested than ever” in acquiring new talent.
When asked about WB Games, Jorgensen answered that he couldn’t divulge specifics. Still, he took the time to explain EA’s approach to acquiring new teams. “I can’t comment on any specific acquisition… you’ve seen in the past where we’ve done the best is where we have long-term relationships with people. And we’re really trying to buy great talent versus games,” the COO said.
Jorgensen referenced EA’s purchase of Respawn Entertainment as an example, clarifying that such a purchase centered on the acquisition of talent. It wasn’t exclusively about acquiring the Titanfall IP.
It wasn’t about Titanfall–and that’s no offense to Titanfall. It’s an amazing game and we’ll maybe see a Titanfall at some point sometime down the road, but it was really about the team. And it starts at the top with [Studio Head] Vince [Zampella], but it goes all the way through the whole organization.
And so it might take some time but trust that we are more interested than ever because we see talent and building great new franchises is critical to the long-term growth for business.
As of now, there’s no clear indicator of how exactly the sale of WB Games would work in practice. Would individual studios be sold off, or will everything go as one packaged deal? There’s also the question of what this could entail for WB-owned IP. NetherRealm Studios continuing to develop Mortal Kombat seems a no-brainer. However, one publisher’s purchase of Rocksteady doesn’t necessarily mean that access to Batman and DC properties tag along, too.
[Source: Electronic Arts via VG247]
