MMO developer Turbine is now part of Warner Bros.

APRIL 20, 2010 • Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group acquired online Boston-based MMO developer Turbine, Inc. Terms were not disclosed, but the Boston Globe reported that the venture-backed developer was purchased for as much as $160 million, with additional sums due to Turbine shareholders if the studio meets specific financial goals under Warner Bros. control. Turbine is best known for its Dungeons & Dragons, and Lord of the Rings MMOs. With the acquisition of Turbine, Warner Bros. now controls all Lord of the Rings game license rights.

Impact: Warner Bros. is reversing its trend of film studios licensing out intellectual properties for development and distribution by external games publishers and once again expanding into controlling game publishing for its own IP.  There has been a great deal of speculation about how Warner Bros. would expand its presence in the game industry since they announced that they would do less licensing of their IP to game companies.  So far, the company seems to be making some smart bets by acquiring strong development talent.  In late 2007, Warner acquired British developer Traveller’s Tales who is building some hit Lego games on such properties as Batman and Harry Potter.  In 2009, Warner had some successful core and family targeted products such as Batman: Arkham Asylum and LEGO Batman, respectively. Turbine is a leading developer of high-end online games that appeal to a very different audience.  Thus, it adds a new, complimentary, development skill set to the Warner Bros. stable. Warner now has a successful MMO developer and operator experienced in not only traditional subscription based models, but hybrid micro-transaction/free-to-play hybrid models as well.