Latest news with #WBGames
The Verge
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
WB Games' best PC titles are in this $12 Humble bundle
The future of Warner Bros. Games is unclear, as it shut down several studios and canceled anticipated games earlier this year. But there's no arguing that the company's back catalog of titles is full of gems, many of which are in Humble's great $12 bundle. Through August 27th, you can jump on this unbeatable deal that gets you 16 WB Games titles on Steam for just $12, with proceeds going to the Raiden Science Foundation. This bittersweet bundle features an array of licensed and original open-world titles, fighting games, and first-person shooters from WB Games' studios — most of which have either fallen from grace in recent years, or have been shut down. The standout for me is Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monolith's third-person action game that features the excellent Nemesis System, a mechanic that allows enemies to remember and react to players. For instance, if an enemy kills you in battle, that enemy will get stronger and remember your last encounter, making fights feel more personal. Other highlights include Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and the oft-overlooked Mad Max. There's a lot of fun to be had with other games in the bundle too, like Mortal Kombat 11, Mortal Kombat XL, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, among others. In most cases, you'll be getting the most content-complete versions of the games with purchase. Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox weekly. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Brandon Russell Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Deals Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All PC Gaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
Geek Culture
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
Warner Bros. Working On Another Live-Service Game Despite Suicide Squad Flop
Despite losing US$200 million after last year's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League , Warner Bros. Games has apparently not learnt its lesson and is hard at work on another new live-service title based in the DC Comics universe. This comes from a job listing for an executive producer role at WB Games Montréal, with the job scope including overseeing 'all phases of development, from concept to post-launch live operations', and the experience required including a 'deep understanding of the full game development lifecycle, including live services'. While the exact game title was not specified, the post did mention that it will be a 'high-quality AAA game based on one of the iconic IPs from the vast Warner Bros. and DC Comics catalogue.' It seems that despite its recent string of flops, from the aforementioned Suicide Squad , to the recently shut-down MultiVersus and 2022's disappointing Gotham Knights , WB Games has decided that the best course of action to regain the favour lost within its playbase is to double down on the very thing they hate, the dreaded live-service format. This also comes after a studio-wide shake-up late last year, where Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav discussed plans to only focus on four of its major gaming IPs: DC, Hogwarts Legacy , Mortal Kombat , and Game of Thrones , which makes this new live-service game likely to fall under the DC umbrella. This decision to once again stick to the live-service format becomes even more baffling when considering how tough of a time WB Games has it as of late, with Suicide Squad's flop leading to a 41 per cent drop in its gaming revenue last year and a four percent decrease across the studio's entire revenue, which comprises of gaming, TV and cinema. The studio has also seen layoffs and closures in the months that followed, including a team 'restructuring' at Rocksteady in September 2024, and the cancellation of its Wonder Woman game alongside the closure of three studios, Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego in February this year. Will WB Games' insistence on the live-service format somehow work in its favour, or is the studio committing career suicide? Only time will tell, but if history has taught us anything about the genre, it's likely the latter. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Live Service Games warner bros WB Games WB Games Montreal
Geek Feed
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Feed
WB Games Restructuring will Prioritize 4 Major Franchises Including Mortal Kombat and Harry Potter
It's no mystery that WB Games have been having major missteps recently, what with the cancellation of huge games like Wonder Woman and the underperformance of Mortal Kombat 1 . While rumors had been flying around that WB should just sell their gaming division, it does look like they've decided to do some major restructuring—which a lot of people in the game community think could mean great things for the brand. According to Variety, WBD has announced that they will now focus on four key franchises, namely Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat , and DC. Three studio heads have been promoted to major decision-making positions, them being WB Games Montreal studio head Yves Lachance, NethereRealm Studio head Shaun Himmerick, and WB Games New York studio chief Steven Flenory. All three have been promoted to senior vice president with Lachance handling Potter and Thrones ; Himmerick dealing with DC and Mortal Kombat; and Flenory overseeing 'game and publishing technology, customer service, quality assurance, and user research.' With WB Games recently getting flak for poor management, a lot of people in the community think that the promotion of Lachance, Himmerick, and Flenory is a great choice since all have been in the industry for a long time, and they have a better handle at the game development process—which should allow them to make better decisions from up top. The news of the restructuring follows the announcement that heads like David Zaslav will be taking huge paycuts based on the performance of the WB brand since he took over. What's great news is that no layoffs have been made, and it's said that mostly the executives were the one to take the blow here. We don't know what the future holds for WB Games now, but hopefully the restructuring will lead to less games getting cancelled and more hits coming out under the WB banner.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
SAG-AFTRA's Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on How Consumers Can Support Video Game Actors Strike as It Nears 250-Day Mark
The SAG-AFTRA strike against major video game companies has nearly reached the 250-day mark and there's no deal yet. And while nothing seems to have changed from the outside, real progress is being made behind the scenes. The video game companies' bargaining committee (which represents Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions and WB Games) presented an updated counter proposal of the Interactive Media Agreement to the actors union on March 26, which 'directly addresses several issues the union has identified as important components of a deal,' a source close to negotiations told Variety. More from Variety SAG-AFTRA Affirms Support for DEI as Studios Back Away SAG-AFTRA Video Game Performers Hold Picket Outside WB Games as Strike Continues: 'We Are Still Fighting' Colman Domingo, Pamela Anderson, Zoe Saldaña Among This Year's SAG Awards Presenters (EXCLUSIVE) The SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee, which has consistently expressed that protections against generative AI for performers is their top priority, is currently reviewing the new proposal. 'We have proposed a deal that includes wage increases of over 15% for SAG-AFTRA represented performers in video games, as well as enhanced health and safety protections, industry-leading terms of use for AI digital replicas in-game and additional compensation for the use of an actor's performance in other games,' a spokesperson for the major gaming companies involved in the negotiations said in a statement Monday. 'We have made meaningful progress and are eager to return to the bargaining table to reach a deal.' On Friday, SAG-AFTRA announced the creation of the Student Interactive Waiver Agreement and the Game Jam Waiver Agreement, which the union says 'provide video game developers at every stage of their careers the opportunity to work with union performers, even as the video game strike continues.' Prior to these new movements, Variety spoke with SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on March 20 during the 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC) about the possibility of a boycott, should progress continue to be stalled, and what he wants to see from consumers who are looking to support the actors in the strike. 'It's definitely a tool that's still in our toolbox,' Crabtree-Ireland said of the union's option to call for a formal boycott. 'Because we are actively having conversations, both formally and informally, with the industry, it's not a tool we have chosen to deploy yet — but we absolutely are willing to deploy it if the circumstances demand, and we absolutely have not ruled out doing that if necessary. But I'm hopeful that we'll be able to find the path to an agreement without having to pull that trigger, but it is definitely still something that we have at our disposal if and when our committee decides it's time to use it.' The strike began in July 2024, following an inability for SAG-AFTRA and the video game companies' bargaining committee to reach a deal for a new Interactive Media Agreement. They were able to find common ground on 24 items in a 25-item proposal, the ongoing sticking point being issues with generative AI. While his team is at work negotiating towards a resolution, Crabtree-Ireland has recommendations for members of the gaming community who want to back their cause from the outside. 'I think consumers definitely can support the strike by, first of all, just sharing their disappointment with the companies through social media channels, through customer service channels, just communicating either directly to the companies or publicly through social media that they support our members and what we're fighting for,' the SAG-AFTRA chief said. Crabtree-Ireland notes that SAG-AFTRA released 'a lengthy document with all of the proposals related to the strike, all the AI proposals from both sides, so that everyone can see for themselves exactly what the disputes are — and that this is not a case that some of the companies have tried to hint at in their public statements, of us rejecting perfectly great offers that they've put across the table, or them being sensitive to what we really need.' In those documents, Crabtree-Ireland says the union has laid out 'in very clear detail why the things the companies have offered have these massive loopholes that they could drive a truck through to take away our performers', our members' confidence that they won't be competing against their own digital replicas for work in the future.' 'So I think that the general public can just inform themselves, inform their friends, and help speak to their community and to the companies about the fact that they stand with us and just want companies to do the right thing so that everyone can get back to work,' he adds. Best of Variety What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
SAG-AFTRA's Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on How Consumers Can Support Video Game Actors Strike as It Nears 250-Day Mark
The SAG-AFTRA strike against major video game companies has nearly reached the 250-day mark and there's no deal yet. And while nothing seems to have changed from the outside, real progress is being made behind the scenes. The video game companies' bargaining committee (which represents Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions and WB Games) presented an updated counter proposal of the Interactive Media Agreement to the actors union on March 26, which 'directly addresses several issues the union has identified as important components of a deal,' a source close to negotiations told Variety. More from Variety SAG-AFTRA Affirms Support for DEI as Studios Back Away SAG-AFTRA Video Game Performers Hold Picket Outside WB Games as Strike Continues: 'We Are Still Fighting' Colman Domingo, Pamela Anderson, Zoe Saldaña Among This Year's SAG Awards Presenters (EXCLUSIVE) The SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee, which has consistently expressed that protections against generative AI for performers is their top priority, is currently reviewing the new proposal. 'We have proposed a deal that includes wage increases of over 15% for SAG-AFTRA represented performers in video games, as well as enhanced health and safety protections, industry-leading terms of use for AI digital replicas in-game and additional compensation for the use of an actor's performance in other games,' a spokesperson for the major gaming companies involved in the negotiations said in a statement Monday. 'We have made meaningful progress and are eager to return to the bargaining table to reach a deal.' On Friday, SAG-AFTRA announced the creation of the Student Interactive Waiver Agreement and the Game Jam Waiver Agreement, which the union says 'provide video game developers at every stage of their careers the opportunity to work with union performers, even as the video game strike continues.' Prior to these new movements, Variety spoke with SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland on March 20 during the 2025 Game Developers Conference (GDC) about the possibility of a boycott, should progress continue to be stalled, and what he wants to see from consumers who are looking to support the actors in the strike. 'It's definitely a tool that's still in our toolbox,' Crabtree-Ireland said of the union's option to call for a formal boycott. 'Because we are actively having conversations, both formally and informally, with the industry, it's not a tool we have chosen to deploy yet — but we absolutely are willing to deploy it if the circumstances demand, and we absolutely have not ruled out doing that if necessary. But I'm hopeful that we'll be able to find the path to an agreement without having to pull that trigger, but it is definitely still something that we have at our disposal if and when our committee decides it's time to use it.' The strike began in July 2024, following an inability for SAG-AFTRA and the video game companies' bargaining committee to reach a deal for a new Interactive Media Agreement. They were able to find common ground on 24 items in a 25-item proposal, the ongoing sticking point being issues with generative AI. While his team is at work negotiating towards a resolution, Crabtree-Ireland has recommendations for members of the gaming community who want to back their cause from the outside. 'I think consumers definitely can support the strike by, first of all, just sharing their disappointment with the companies through social media channels, through customer service channels, just communicating either directly to the companies or publicly through social media that they support our members and what we're fighting for,' the SAG-AFTRA chief said. Crabtree-Ireland notes that SAG-AFTRA released 'a lengthy document with all of the proposals related to the strike, all the AI proposals from both sides, so that everyone can see for themselves exactly what the disputes are — and that this is not a case that some of the companies have tried to hint at in their public statements, of us rejecting perfectly great offers that they've put across the table, or them being sensitive to what we really need.' In those documents, Crabtree-Ireland says the union has laid out 'in very clear detail why the things the companies have offered have these massive loopholes that they could drive a truck through to take away our performers', our members' confidence that they won't be competing against their own digital replicas for work in the future.' 'So I think that the general public can just inform themselves, inform their friends, and help speak to their community and to the companies about the fact that they stand with us and just want companies to do the right thing so that everyone can get back to work,' he adds. Best of Variety What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
