Troubled Year for Warner Bros. Games: What Went Wrong with Live-Service Titles?

Warner Bros. Games (WBG) is weathering a turbulent 2024, marred by hefty financial losses and growing public dissatisfaction with its foray into live-service gaming. The company’s ambitious pivot to live-service models—a strategy designed to generate sustained revenue through continuous content updates—has, so far, struggled to capture audiences or meet financial expectations. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav recently highlighted the issue during the company’s Q3 earnings call, where he revealed that disappointing performances from Multiversus, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions have collectively cost WBG a staggering $300 million in writeoffs this year alone.

The challenges underscore the high-stakes nature of the live-service model, which demands constant engagement and a strong player base. Zaslav, joined by CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, acknowledged the missteps, emphasizing that the games division is “substantially underperforming its potential,” with the $300 million writedown playing a crucial role in Warner Bros. Discovery’s profit decline for the year.

With third-quarter results revealing a 31% revenue drop for WBG compared to last year, the company now faces pressure to reevaluate its approach.

But the question remains: What went wrong with WBG’s high-stakes wager?