After calling 2025 a reset year, Warner Bros. Discovery is focusing its game development on fewer properties, with major releases expected later in the decade.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is changing how it approaches game development. As reported by GameSpot, the company now plans to focus on four franchises: Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat, and DC, according to executive JB Perrette. Internally, 2025 was described as a reset year for the division.

Perrette said the previous strategy spread resources too thin, with too many intellectual properties and too many partner studios involved. The new approach reduces that scope and centers development on a smaller group of established brands.

NetherRealm Studios is working on an unannounced project. No details about the game have been shared, including what form it will take or when it may release.

A sequel to Hogwarts Legacy is considered likely a safe bet. It was already being prioritized internally in 2024. The first game launched in 2023 and finished as the best-selling title in the United States that year.

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight has a near-term release scheduled for May 2026. Larger releases tied to the new strategy are expected between 2027 and 2028.

GameSpot also referenced reports of a possible Lord of the Rings game. There has been no official announcement, and the rights to the franchise are held by Embracer Group, not Warner Bros. Discovery.

The strategy shift comes as WBD reports improved but ongoing losses. The company posted a quarterly loss of $252 million, compared to $494 million the previous year. It is also in the process of being sold, with Paramount Global pursuing an acquisition through shareholder action.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a recent Bloomberg article that any competing bids for Warner Bros. Discovery would probably require deep cost cuts across the company, including fewer productions and scaled-back operations.

He estimated the total reductions could top $16 billion over roughly 18 months, which could affect output across film, television, and gaming according to the Bloomberg article.

The Paramount Global bid is structured as a full acquisition of WBD’s assets, which could lead to wide-reaching changes across all divisions, including the interactive entertainment segment.

Sarandos also noted that mergers of this size usually involve consolidating resources and focusing on a smaller number of core properties, a pattern that aligns with WBD’s current strategy of narrowing its gaming and media franchises.

The current roadmap reflects a transition period. Hogwarts Legacy released in 2023, the sequel was prioritized in 2024, and 2025 was used to reset the division. New releases tied to this strategy could begin rolling out in 2026 and continue into the later part of the decade according to GameSpot.

With Mortal Kombat and DC both among WBD’s planned franchises, fans may wonder which direction NetherRealm Studios will take next. Would a new Mortal Kombat game be more appealing, or an Injustice title? Another possibility that fans have been asking for is a more ambitious DC:KO game uniting multiple WB IPs in a style more brutal than Multiverses. Which would you prefer, let us know in the comments.