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Microsoft Looking To Buy Out Warner Bros Interactive Ahead Of Xbox Series X Launch

The next console generation is no doubt an exciting one, with just the imminent launch of the 8th-generation flagship consoles from both Sony and Microsoft launching at the end of 2020.

Last month, Sony’s PlayStation 5 reveal rocked the world with not just the machine itself, but also the slew of games coming to it, with more than half of the games coming from Sony’s first-party studios under its PlayStation Studios umbrella. And it looks as though Microsoft aims to match its blue competitor with the potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the Xbox Series X.

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According to The Information (via Windows Central), WB Interactive’s current parent company, AT&T, was reportedly “considering” to sell the developer with an asking price of between US$2 billion to US$4 billion in order to ease its US$154 billion debt. This leaves it ripe for companies like Take-Two Interactive, Activision and EA to swoop in.

Microsoft seems to be the newest party to join the hunt in acquiring the rights to publish games like Batman Arkham (Rocksteady, WB Montreal), Mortal Kombat (NetherRealm), and other studios such as Avalanche Software, Monolith Productions, and TT Games.

Mortal Kombat 11 by NetherRealm Studios.

The acquisition of WB Interactive could potentially be the much-needed boost Microsoft needs in order to match up to Sony in terms of the sheer volume of first-party AAA titles. This potential takeover is, of course, on top of the publisher’s recent acquisition of the likes of Obsidian, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory back in 2018.

For now, there is no confirmation by neither AT&T nor Microsoft in the potential auction of WB Interactive.

Meanwhile, WB Interactive’s various studios are currently working on their latest titles. Rocksteady is reportedly working on a new Suicide Squad title; WB Montreal could be developing a new entry in the Batman Arkham franchise, and a new Harry Potter RPG is in the works under Avalanche Studios.