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Report: Warner Bros games arm to split up as part of AT&T deal

Date Type Companies involved Size
May 18th, 2021 acquisition AT&T
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
$43,000m
Report: Warner Bros games arm to split up as part of AT&T deal

It looks like Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is going to be split up as part of a deal between AT&T and Discovery.

The US telecoms giant is selling its WarnerMedia division to Discovery for $43 billion. Discovery is going to be merging WarnerMedia with itself to form a brand new company headed up by Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav.

As reported by IGN's Julia Alexandra, some parts of Warner Bros games business are being moved into a new company, though which parts of Warner Bros Interactive are going to remain under the AT&T banner is not clear at the moment.

"During my many conversations with John, we always come back to the same simple and powerful strategic principle: these assets are better and more valuable together," he said.

"It is super exciting to combine such historic brands, world-class journalism and iconic franchises under one roof and unlock so much value and opportunity. With a library of cherished IP, dynamite management teams and global expertise in every market in the world, we believe everyone wins...consumers with more diverse choices, talent and storytellers with more resources and compelling pathways to larger audiences, and shareholders with a globally scaled growth company committed to a strong balance sheet that is better positioned to compete with the world’s largest streamers. We will build a new chapter together with the creative and talented WarnerMedia team and these incredible assets built on a nearly 100-year legacy of the most wonderful storytelling in the world. That will be our singular mission: to focus on telling the most amazing stories and have a ton of fun doing it.”

This follows reports in 2020 that AT&T was looking to sell its Warner Bros games arm. Apparently Take-Two, EA and Activision Blizzard were interested in snapping up the business, while Microsoft also joined the fray at a later date.

AT&T apparently removed Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment from sale later in the summer.


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PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.