DC Movie Tie-In Games Aren't A Guarantee, But Could Happen
Warner Bros. Discovery's gaming boss, JB Perrette, has teased the company's future games outlook, saying it's a big benefit that DC Studios co-head James Gunn is a gamer himself. Speaking to Variety, Perrette acknowledged that WBD has not done a good enough job over the years with having its game and film divisions working together.
"Frankly, there hasn't been as close a relationship between the studio and the games business as there should have been. And James is actually a gamer, so having someone who's passionate about it is super helpful," Perrette said.
He added that WBD's gaming division, Warner Bros. Games, is now "actively working with Gunn and Safran on the core franchises within the DC Universe."
What this might amount to is unknown at this stage, but Perrette said Warner Bros. Games won't simply release a tie-in game if it doesn't make sense.
"While they're working on a Superman movie title, we're not going to launch a Superman game purely because we feel obligated," Perrette said. "We have to do something that makes sense for the gaming strategy and for fans and for the consumer."
Gunn co-wrote the 2012 game Lollipop Chainsaw, and he's commented on the future of DC video games before.
There are a number of upcoming DC games in the works, including this week's debut of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, as well as future games like a Wonder Woman title and The Wolf Among Us 2. Warner Bros. Games had its biggest success ever in 2023 with the launch of Hogwarts Legacy, which sold more than 24 million copies and finished 2023 as the No. 1 best-selling game in the US.
Perrette said Warner Bros. Games wants to have hits more regularly, instead of "one great hit every three or four years."
"We want it to be 'always on.' And the good news is the gaming space is lending itself to that," Perrette said.
Also in the interview, Perrette teased that WBD has "ideas" for how its games and streaming service Max could connect someday. The natural suggestion is that Max could one day play host to video games themselves, not unlike how Netflix is now testing game-streaming. But nothing is certain yet, and Perrette said WBD is focused on "doing the basics better" for Max right now, and any expansion of Max with games would come later, if it ever happens.
