Netflix may have backed away from acquiring Warner Bros., but it’s now Paramount Skydance that’s stepped in as the frontrunner in the proposed merger - and analysts are concerned as to what this may mean for franchises like Hogwarts Legacy.
The merger of the two companies is a deal reportedly worth around $110 billion which, actually, should really come as no surprise.
Warner Bros. is home to some of the biggest franchises in entertainment including DC, the Wizarding World, Game of Thrones, and more.
If Paramount Skydance succeeds with the merger, which it initiated in early 2026, it’ll also acquire Warner Bros. Games as well as the company’s TV and film assets.
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Warner Bros. Games is, of course, behind the monumental hit Hogwarts Legacy as well as the Batman Arkham Trilogy and Mortal Kombat Games.
Paramount Is Expected To Make $6 Billion In Cuts Across Warner Bros.
There are concerns from analysts, as reported by TheWrap, that there could be cuts amongst WB’s gaming division, particularly as that’s not a sector of the industry Paramount is prevalent in yet.
Justin Kenna, CEO of GameSquare Holdings, revealed to The Wrap that it’s expected that $6 billion in cuts will be made across WB following the merger.
There’s no precise hint as to what Paramount might want to scale back on but it’s possible that it could be elements of the gaming division.
“With Paramount now adding WB Games to their arsenal, they are gaining some gaming franchises that can be used to engage fans year-round within a more streamlined and vertically integrated content experience,” Kenna said.
They went on to describe the games industry as “simply a space that you need to be playing in if you’re a media company trying to win the next generation of consumers”.
It’s with that in mind that I would be surprised if we saw Paramount attempt to interrupt whatever is clearly already in the works regarding Hogwarts Legacy’s future.
A sequel is in development with the theory being that it may have been accelerated by the cancellation of a director’s cut and DLC expansion for the original Hogwarts Legacy.
Clearly, WB is eager to push the franchise forward given that Hogwarts Legacy surpassed a whopping 40,000,000 sales at the end of last year.
The company recently teased that 2027 would be a major year for its most popular gaming franchises and, at the moment, Hogwarts Legacy is leading that cohort.
It’s believed then that either a sequel might get formally announced or released entirely next year.
Given just how much of a cash cow the Wizarding World is, I’d guess that Paramount will support WB and Avalanche Studios’ existing plans. The truth is, though, that that cannot be guaranteed.
In the least severe scenario, Paramount could delay the game as a means of applying quality control across the whole business.
It’ll be interesting to see what unfolds but hopefully players return to the halls of Hogwarts before long.
Topics: Hogwarts Legacy, Warner Bros, Harry Potter