Warner Bros. Games has a new owner. Paramount completed its roughly $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, 2026, and the merged company now runs under one name: Skydance. Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, Batman: Arkham and the LEGO games now sit under the same company as Paramount’s own game studio.
Nothing changes for players today. Your games still work, the servers are still running, and no project has been cancelled because of the deal. The next twelve months are harder to predict, and Skydance has said very little about games so far.
Who Owns Warner Bros. Games Now?
Skydance owns Warner Bros. Games. The company was called Paramount Skydance until the deal closed. Its shares started trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD the same day. David Ellison is chairman and CEO, and Ynon Kreiz is co-CEO.
WBD shareholders received $31.01666668 in cash per share. WBD stock has stopped trading on Nasdaq. Skydance’s official closing announcement says competition regulators in nearly 70 jurisdictions approved the merger.
Paramount and Warner Bros. Deal at a Glance
| Detail | What we know |
|---|---|
| Deal closed | October 6, 2026 |
| New company name | Skydance |
| Stock ticker | SKYD (NYSE) |
| Deal value | About $110 billion, including debt |
| Price per WBD share | $31.01666668 in cash |
| Combined annual revenue | Nearly $70 billion |
| Streaming subscribers | 200 million+ across HBO Max and Paramount+ |
| Cost savings target | $6 billion+ within three years |
| Film output promise | At least 30 theatrical films a year |
Every Warner Bros. Games Studio Skydance Now Controls
Skydance took over every studio under the Warner Bros. Games label. Here are the main ones and where each one stands.
| Studio | Best known for | Most recent release |
|---|---|---|
| Avalanche Software | Hogwarts Legacy (Portkey Games label) | Hogwarts Legacy (2023) |
| NetherRealm Studios | Mortal Kombat, Injustice | Mortal Kombat 1 (2023) |
| Rocksteady Studios | Batman: Arkham series | Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024) |
| TT Games | LEGO games | LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (2026) |
| WB Games Montreal | Batman: Arkham Origins, Gotham Knights | Gotham Knights (2022) |
| WB Games Boston, New York, San Francisco | Support, mobile and live service work | Not applicable |
The brands matter as much as the studios. Skydance now holds the game rights to DC, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat and Looney Tunes. Plenty of that already reaches players through licensing, like the Game of Thrones skins that came to Fortnite earlier this year.
Why Skydance’s Merger Announcement Left Out Video Games
The closing press release covered movies, TV, news, sports and streaming. Games did not appear in it at all. GameSpot pointed out the gap and said it had asked Skydance for details.
That gap is hard to ignore. Hogwarts Legacy has sold more than 30 million copies. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight launched on May 22, 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and Alinea Analytics estimated about 1.2 million sales in its first week. The Switch 2 version followed on September 18.
Inven Global reported that Skydance plans to combine the development and licensing teams of Warner Bros. Games and Skydance’s own games arm to grow its biggest franchises. Skydance itself has made no games statement yet. It also hasn’t named a leader for the combined games business. JB Perrette, who most recently ran WBD’s global streaming and games unit, moved into a co-chair role on the streaming and TV side.
What Happens to Paramount Games Studio?
Paramount had a games division before this deal closed. In June 2026, it merged Skydance Interactive and Skydance New Media into one team called Paramount Games Studio, led by Tony Driscoll, Gematsu reported. Two projects moved over with it. One is Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. The other is an untitled Star Wars game from Amy Hennig’s team, published by Lucasfilm Games.
Skydance is also making the Call of Duty movie with Activision, due in 2028. Add Warner Bros. Games to that and you get one company building games, films and shows around the same franchises. Ellison calls himself a big gamer. Whether that turns into bigger budgets for the studios is still unknown.
Will Skydance Cut Jobs at Warner Bros. Games?
No layoffs have been announced. The risk is real, though. Skydance wants at least $6 billion in yearly savings within three years, and big media mergers usually bring cuts. GameSpot noted that Microsoft removed thousands of jobs after buying Activision Blizzard.
Skydance says most savings will come from technology, integration and procurement, marketing, and real estate. WB Games comes into the deal already shrunk. In February 2025 it closed Monolith Productions, Player First Games and WB San Diego, and cancelled the Wonder Woman game. Later that year it reorganised around four franchises: Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones.
What This Means for Hogwarts Legacy 2, Mortal Kombat and Batman
Short term, nothing moves. Games already in development continue unless Skydance decides otherwise.
Earlier in 2026, Perrette said WB Games would return to its biggest franchises in 2027 and 2028. Reports point to a Hogwarts Legacy sequel, a new Rocksteady Batman game and NetherRealm’s next fighter in that window. None has a release date yet.
Skydance could fund more big console games, push harder on licensing the IP to other publishers, or mix the two. The first budget it sets for the games unit will say more than any press release.
How the Paramount Warner Bros. Acquisition Played Out
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| December 2025 | Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros.’ studios and streaming business for $82.7 billion. Days later, Paramount launches a hostile bid for all of WBD |
| February 27, 2026 | WBD signs a merger agreement with Paramount Skydance after Netflix pulls out |
| June 2026 | Paramount Games Studio forms from Skydance Interactive and Skydance New Media |
| October 5, 2026 | Skydance names its leadership team |
| October 6, 2026 | Deal closes and SKYD starts trading on the NYSE |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Warner Bros. Games now?
Skydance owns Warner Bros. Games. Paramount Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, 2026, and renamed the combined company Skydance. That includes Avalanche Software, NetherRealm Studios, Rocksteady Studios, TT Games, WB Games Montreal and the rest of WB’s game studios.
Does Paramount own Hogwarts Legacy now?
Yes. Hogwarts Legacy developer Avalanche Software and its Portkey Games label now belong to Skydance, the company formerly known as Paramount Skydance. The game stays available on all platforms. A sequel has been reported for 2027 or 2028, but no release date has been announced.
Will Mortal Kombat change after the merger?
Nothing has changed so far. NetherRealm Studios now reports to Skydance, and Skydance has not announced any plans for Mortal Kombat or Injustice. Earlier reports pointed to NetherRealm’s next fighting game arriving around 2028. Watch for Skydance’s first games update for any shift in direction.
Did Netflix buy Warner Bros.?
No. Netflix agreed in December 2025 to buy Warner Bros.’ studios and streaming business for $82.7 billion. Paramount answered with a hostile bid for the whole company. Netflix pulled out, and Warner Bros. Discovery signed with Paramount Skydance on February 27, 2026.
What is Skydance’s stock ticker?
Skydance trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD. Trading began on October 6, 2026, the day the Warner Bros. Discovery deal closed. WBD shares stopped trading on Nasdaq that same day, and shareholders received $31.01666668 in cash per share.
