Latest news with #DavidZaslav
Forbes
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
After ‘Suicide Squad,' WB Is Making Another Live-Service DC Game
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League WB may be producing some solid movies and TV shows as of late, despite all its corporate and branding drama, but video games? It's in a weird place. After the huge success of the single-player Hogwarts Legacy and the utter disaster that was the live-service Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the demand from David Zaslav at the top was…more live-service games. And here we are, with WB gearing up for another DC one, it seems. This news comes from a job listing (via Tech4Gamers) that lists a new executive producer job at WB Montreal hiring for an unannounced game. They are to 'lead the development of a high-quality AAA game based on one of the iconic IPs from the vast Warner Bros. and DC Comics catalog.' Okay, that's good! But they also have to 'oversee post-launch content and live service strategy, ensuring ongoing player engagement.' Oh no. It is not easy to forget what a disaster Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was, which debuted with poor scores, poor sales and poor retention for its live-service aspects. After Marvel's Avengers had tried and failed to make a live-service superhero game, Suicide Squad was an even worse attempt and reportedly lost WB $200 million. Suicide Squad There is supposed to be a more traditional Arkham game in the works from Rocksteady now, according to past reports, but WB does not seem like it's going to be able to give up the chase to try and jam DC superheroes into a live game. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder In 2025, it is hard enough to sustain a live-service game, especially one based on producing significant, ongoing PvE content. But it's even harder with a superhero concept, as evidenced by these failures. Marvel's Avengers had to awkwardly insert bizarre loot like finding drops of Black Widow belts or Hulk rib cages. They also quickly realized that the pace of delivering new heroes and content was wildly harder than they thought, and they fell behind without ever catching up. To its credit, Suicide Squad did produce its year of content in a timely manner before throwing in the towel but it…wasn't good. A similar problem existed with loot, as the game attempted to make all its characters use guns including ones where it made no sense like Captain Boomerang and King Shark. It also had a story everyone hated based around the uncomfortable concept of killing off the Justice League (though in the follow-up content no one played, it was revealed those were actually all clones, and the real JLA survived. Except uh, Wonder Woman. RIP). There are no indications about what kind of game this would be. James Gunn has previously said he wants the DCU to have attached video games, which seemed incredibly ambitious given development timelines. It's not impossible this could be the plan, however, as WB desperately wants to get the DCU off the ground, and a good live-service game could bolster that. Making a good live-service superhero game, however, is going to be next to impossible, a lesson WB very much should have learned. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Business Insider
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) No More With Post-Split Dynamics Reveal
Calling it entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) may not be valid for much longer, according to new reports. The upcoming split between the studio operations and the linear television operations will see Warner split into two parts, and interestingly, it will see them split right in the name. Investors, meanwhile, liked what they heard, and gave shares a 1.5% boost in the closing minutes of Monday's trading. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Basically, once the split is actually accomplished, it will leave us with two halves of the former whole. The studio and streaming business, which includes the film and TV studios, HBO, HBO Max, DC Studios, and the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, will all be part of Warner Bros. Meanwhile, the networks operations —including Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, and of course, Discovery Channel, will be Discovery Global. David Zaslav will continue to head up Warner Bros., while Warner's chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels will be dispatched to helm the sinking ship that will be Discovery Global. Wiedenfels pointed out, '…our enthusiasm for the opportunities ahead only grows thanks to our leading portfolio of beloved brands and programming, our worldwide footprint for adults, kids, and families…' keeps them all going. A New Gaming Crossover While horror buffs eagerly await the arrival of Weapons, the new film from Zach Cregger, Warner and Sawhorse Productions are getting together to bring elements of the film to popular game Fortnite. The move will basically sink Fortnite players into the Weapons world, allowing players to collect props, encounter haunted NPCs, and '…face the mysterious 2:17 AM event.' This is not the first time that Warner and Sawhorse worked together on a project like this; they were also seen together on Sinners: Survive the Night based on the release of Sinners. While little data was on hand for how many played that last game, it must have done reasonably well for Warner to come back to Sawhorse to make a second round. Is WBD Stock a Good Buy? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on WBD stock based on 10 Buys and eight Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 60.21% rally in its share price over the past year, the average WBD price target of $13 per share implies 5.18% downside risk.
The Verge
2 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
Warner Bros. Discovery will be Warner Bros. and Discovery after they break up
This time next year, the corporate entity known as Warner Bros. Discovery will be no more, and the two companies it's splitting into have some very inspired names. Today, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that 'Warner Bros.' and 'Discovery Global' are the names of the two new businesses that will exist after it completes its restructuring plan sometime in mid-2026. Warner Bros. will oversee Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Gaming Studios. And Discovery Global will be responsible for CNN, TNT's sports offerings in the US, Discovery, Discovery Plus, and Bleacher Report. WBD president and CEO David Zaslav will continue to lead the executive team at Warner Bros, while WBD's current chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels will act as president and CEO for Discovery Global. In a statement about his new-ish role, Zaslav said that the corporate uncoupling will help put Warner Bros. into 'a strong position to launch and continue to meaningfully grow a company worthy of our storied past.' Wiedenfels echoed Zaslav's sentiment and insisted that Discovery Global's leadership team will 'ensure strong operational execution to drive strategic investments and deliver compelling content to global audiences.'WBD says that the new names are meant to honor 'the legacy of more than a century of industry-defining storytelling. But, everything about the company's restructuring reads very transparently as a move to deal with its massive debt problem. Technically speaking, Discovery Global's debt would no longer be attached directly to Warner Bros., which could help boost the company's flagging stock price. It's not exactly clear how Discovery Global plans to get itself back in the black, but the company is now looking for a new chief communications and public affairs officer who will probably be tasked with putting a positive spin on this whole situation. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Charles Pulliam-Moore Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Business Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Entertainment Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Film Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All HBO Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Streaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All TV Shows
Axios
2 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Warner Bros. Discovery announces post-split company names
Warner Bros. Discovery said its post-separation companies will be named Warner Bros. and Discovery Global. Why it matters: The announcement further unwinds the 2022 merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery that created WBD in the first place. Catch up quick: WBD announced in June it plans to split into two publicly traded companies, separating most of its legacy TV assets from its streaming business. Warner Bros., which had been temporarily referred to as "Streaming & Studios," will include HBO, HBO Max, DC Studios as well as Warner Bros. television, film and gaming, plus their libraries. Discovery Global, which was temporarily named "Global Networks," will include most of its television brands like CNN and TNT Sports, free-to-air- channels in Europe and digital products like the Discovery+ streaming service and Bleacher Report (B/R). WBD CEO David Zaslav is set to run Warner Bros. while WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels is slated to helm Discovery Global. As part of the split, expected to be completed by mid-2026, Discovery Global is poised to take on most of WBD's debt as well as a 20% stake in Warner Bros. What's next: WBD said it's begun looking for a chief financial officer and chief people and culture officer for Warner Bros, as well as a chief communications and public affairs officer for Discovery Global. The bottom line: It's hardly the first time the company has opted to return to names that already have widespread recognition.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Warner Bros. Says Its Spinoff Will Be Named Discovery Global
(Bloomberg) -- Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. announced the names of the two companies resulting from a planned separation of the streaming and studios business from its cable-TV networks. Can This Bridge Ease the Troubled US-Canadian Relationship? Budapest's Most Historic Site Gets a Controversial Rebuild Trump Administration Sues NYC Over Sanctuary City Policy Warner Bros. will house the company's television, video-game and movie studios, as well as HBO and the HBO Max streaming platform. Discovery Global will include CNN, TNT Sports in the US, Discovery and the Discovery+ streaming service, among other assets, according to a statement Monday. The company announced that it was dividing into two separate entities last month, with the split expected to be completed in mid-2026. As more customers switch from struggling cable networks to streaming, other companies are taking similar steps. Comcast Corp. plans to spin off its cable networks into a separate company called Versant by the end of this year. The move is an acknowledgment that the 2022 merger of Discovery and AT&T Inc.'s Warner Media hasn't gone as planned. David Zaslav, the long-time cable executive and architect of the merger, will stay with the streaming and studios business. Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels will become CEO of the cable networks. Other executives were named on Monday, most of them remaining in positions similar to those they occupied before the split. Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash It's Not Just Tokyo and Kyoto: Tourists Descend on Rural Japan Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk Confessions of a Laptop Farmer: How an American Helped North Korea's Wild Remote Worker Scheme Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
