Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly set to be bought out by either Paramount, Netflix, or Comcast. It’s claimed that Paramount is the only company that wants all of Warner Bros.’ offerings, which presumably means it would want to take over its gaming efforts too, including ownership of NetherRealm and Rocksteady.
This would come shortly after Paramount saw a shakeup of its own with the Skydance merger. This saw David Ellison become head of Paramount (now Paramount Skydance) and set out a new plan for the company – involving AI.
Rocksteady And NetherRealm’s New Owner Could Be A Company That Wants To “Embrace AI”
As noted by Variety, Ellison has repeatedly said that he wants to incorporate AI into Paramount’s dealings. Since he has likened it to the leap from hand-drawn to 3D animation, it’s safe to assume that this means using generative AI in films and TV shows.
If so, then it’s no stretch of the imagination to wonder if that will also affect the gaming studios under Paramount. Should Paramount successfully purchase Warner Bros., then it will have a whole lot of IP under its belt, as well as Rocksteady and NetherRealm.
So far, both studios have avoided generative AI. It’s become increasingly normalised since the studios put out their last games, though, with Arc Raiders pushing it for voice acting, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 being full of AI art. With that in mind, Paramount wouldn’t even be the first company to try and put this in its games, and it’s clear that this is technology that Ellison wants to explore.
At the very least, we have seen that audiences vocally reject generative AI in games when it is obvious, like in Black Ops 7 and Anno 117: Pax Romana. However, there are many who have excused its inclusion in Arc Raiders, since the AI voice acting was sampled on actors who were hired for the game, so they were still employed (although, presumably, would have been paid for fewer sessions in the booth than they would have otherwise).
It’s also worth noting that, also reported by Variety, Ellison has ties with Trump, and his tenure at Paramount has seen the company accused of making politically motivated layoffs. This included reporters who focused on the environment and Gaza. In which case, there could be fears that Rocksteady and NetherRealm are similarly influenced, especially since both studios have become targets in the culture war (Rocksteady for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and NetherRealm for its character designs in Mortal Kombat 1). This would be a similar situation to what we’re seeing with EA, with many fans fearing that the conservative leanings of its soon-to-be owners (with links to the governments of the US and Saudi Arabia) will censor the games it puts out.
Needless to say, this leaves the futures for NetherRealm and Rocksteady in the balance. If Paramount is the new owner, then we could see a push for AI in their games. However, if Netflix or Comcast secures the Warner Bros. deal, it’s unclear if they would even be interested in acquiring gaming companies, leaving the future of these studios uncertain.
- Date Founded
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January 14, 2004
- Parent Company
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Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Brothers Games
- Headquarters
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Burbank, California, United States
