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Warner Bros. Wants to Turn Its “Biggest Franchises” Into Live Services

• Jacob Chambers
• November 9th, 2023

In Warner Bros.’ Q3 earnings call, CEO David Zaslav said the company is transforming its “biggest franchises” from three- to four-year releases into “more always on gameplay” experiences through live services, multiplatform releases, and free-to-play extensions.

Warner Bros. wants “more players spending more time on more platforms” to “drive engagement and monetization of longer cycles at higher levels”. It also found a “significant opportunity” to boost post-purchase revenue.

The community was surprised when NetherRealm Studios added a Halloween Fatality microtransaction to Mortal Kombat 1. Warner Bros. also reported in the earnings call that the new Mortal Kombat has sold nearly 3 million copies since mid-September.

There are no details, but this figure likely includes sales on all platforms, including the Nintendo Switch. Mortal Kombat 11 will have sold 15 million copies by 2022.