Michael Pachter: Sony should buy WB Games if they are "really smart"

It has been rumored on several occasions that Warner's game studios would be up for sale. During the weekend, the journalist Imran Khan wrote that he once again had heard rumblings about a sale of WB Games, and that "EA, Take-Two, Microsoft, Sony, Tencent, Netease, and PUBG Corp." are interested.

While both Microsoft and Sony have said on several occasions that they are not done buying studios, the world famous analyst Michael Pacher thinks Sony should be especially interested. Speaking in the podcast SIFTD Games, he explains why:

"I think if Sony were really smart, they'd make a move for Warner Bros. Interactive. But Warner Bros. Interactive isn't worth full price without the rights to exploit the DC Comics franchises. So it's an open question whether Warner Bros. is willing to fix the license that is paid for those properties to, you know, $5 million a year, $50 million a year, some number that's manageable, and commit that they will have a perpetual renewal."

Sony already has a big superhero presence with Marvel that has resulted in exclusive Spider-Man titles, Spider-Man joining Marvel's Avengers exclusively on PlayStation and also the upcoming Wolverine. Adding DC heroes to this line-up would be massive, and Warner has even more interesting franchises:

"If you can't make Warner Bros. properties like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and DC Comics, then it doesn't really make sense to buy Warner Bros. Interactive. There are brands there that are really good. You know, like Mortal Kombat and Injustice, but Injustice has DC characters. But they're about the only ones I can think of out there that are sizeable and nominally are for sale."

If any Warner studios or IP's will actually change owners in the end is currently unknown. We could however imagine several of their assets - mainly Mortal Kombat and DC - being of interest for both Microsoft and Sony, as well as third parties.