Warner Bros. invests in SCi, new games based on WB licenses announced @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on December 17, 2006

News: Dozens of new licensed games will rise from this partnership.

Warner Bros. has announced they will be making a substantial investment in SCi Entertainment, eventually purchasing 10.3% of the company's shares. The deal also includes the provision that SCi will be able to develop and publish games based on many of Warner's more popular properties. SCi is better known to American gamers as the parent company of Eidos Interactive.

"Investing in SCi further solidifies our commitment to the rapidly growing interactive and gaming space," said Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. "This deal is consistent with our core strategy of delivering high quality entertainment based on some of the world's best-loved brands for all formats and channels. We look forward to working with SCi to build games the fans of these brands will truly enjoy.Ф

SCi and Warner Bros. will team up to create dozens of games based on many of the WB's properties. These include a game based on the popular TV show The O.C. and the comic book license to Batman (EA holds the rights to any game based on the new movies). The recent Justice League games were published by Eidos, which no doubt influenced this deal.

Other properties that will be turned into games include a series of handheld games based on Looney Tunes characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Speedy Gonzales and more. More animated hijinks will come from a dozen games based on the Hanna-Barbera catalog (Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, Wacky Races, Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound). This deal will also include other WB animated shows like Loonatics Unleashed and Legion of Super Heroes.

Warner Bros. Interactive previously tasked The Collective with creating a game based on the Dirty Harry movies. A publisher has yet to be announced, but SCi or Eidos now appears to be the frontrunner there as well.

Jane Cavanagh, Chief Executive of SCi, said, "These agreements represent a further step in SCi's development as one of the world's leading publishers of interactive entertainment. The licensed properties extend and strengthen our product portfolio through globally recognized titles such as Batman, Looney Tunes including brands such as Bugs Bunny and the classic Hanna-Barbera catalogue including brands such as Tom and Jerry."

While no platforms have been announced for these titles, we'll keep you posted on all of them. Yes, even the game based on The O.C.