Warner Bros. Discovery is refocusing its video game unit on four core franchises: Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat, Harry Potter and the DC Universe.
The move, which entailed some shuffling of executives, was a response to erratic results in the gaming unit. In 2023, it released the year’s top-selling title, Hogwarts Legacy. The following year, it put out a major flop in MultiVersus, which reportedly added $100 million to a $200 million write-down the company had taken.
Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav and Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said MultiVersus’ failure had added another $100 million to the $200 million writedown the company’s games business has suffered so far in 2024. “We recognize it is substantially underperforming its potential right now,” CEO David Zaslav conceded last year during a quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts.
The video game division is slated to become part of the streaming and studios part of WBD after the media company splits into two entities in mid-2026.
There were no layoffs involved in the restructuring, but several execs have taken on new duties.
Warner Bros. Games Montréal Studio Head Yves Lachance has been promoted to SVP, Development, overseeing the development teams working on Harry Potter and Game of Thrones games. NetherRealm Studio Head Shaun Himmerick has been promoted to SVP, Development, overseeing the Mortal Kombat and DC games. All Warner Bros. Games development studios and production publishing teams will report to Lachance and Himmerick, aligned to the franchises for which they are creating games.
Current Warner Bros. Games New York Studio Head Steven Flenory has been promoted to SVP, Central Tech & Services, overseeing Game and Publishing Technology, Customer Service, Quality Assurance and User Research.
The three executives will join the games unit’s senior leadership team and report directly to JB Perrette, CEO Global Streaming & Games at WBD.
“Our company is home to some of the biggest franchises in the world, and we are optimizing our team structure to develop long-term franchise roadmaps to delight players and fans,” Perrette said. “We are very fortunate to have a strong stable of development and technology talent, and Yves, Shaun and Steven are respected leaders with excellent track records in their areas of expertise. I’m looking forward to working closely with them and the team as we work to make the best games possible for our key franchises.”
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