Paramount Skydance is betting on games as key pillar of the company’s strategy alongside TV, films and streaming, and announced the formation of a new unified in-house Games Studio to support the effort.
The David Ellison-led media company announced the creation of Paramount Games Studio, which brings together all of Paramount and Skydance’s gaming studios, including Skydance Interactive and Skydance New Media, into one division that is aligned with Paramount's intellectual property.
Per the company, the new unit led by Tony Driscoll has one mandate: “transform world-class IP into immersive, enduring franchise experiences.”
Driscoll will serve at the helm as president of the Games Studio while continuing his role as EVP of Corporate Strategy and Development. Driscoll counts more than two decades of senior leadership experience across entertainment and media, including at Epic Games, Warner Bros. AT&T, and Disney.
In a Paramount release about the news Driscoll pointed to his time at Disney as influencing part of the vision for Paramount’s gaming division.
"I spent the early part of my career at Walt Disney Imagineering, and one of the main lessons that stayed with me is that there is no more powerful fan relationship than one where you put someone inside a world. Games are the ultimate expression of that," Driscoll said.
Games from the studio are expected to span a variety of types of play that appeal to different levels of gamers – from casual game play to full-fledged AAA games.
As Variety pointed out, previously Paramount’s gaming business has largely consisted of licensing IP to third parties. Per the outlet, first new game from Paramount Games Studio will be a AAA title that’s expected to be announced during the Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles on Friday.
Per Driscoll, the company sees games as a core pillar of the media company’s entertainment strategy, meant to help fuel engagement and more multi-pronged approach to franchises and fandom.
“This division launch marks a meaningful evolution in how we think about games – not as an extension of our business, but as a core pillar of our content strategy alongside film, television and streaming,” said Driscoll. “We are committed to creating exceptional games for every type of player, from casual to AAA, and building enduring experiences across our beloved Paramount IP and original worlds that deepen fan engagement and drive long-term growth.”
It comes as Paramount is in the midst of trying to close a mega $110 billion deal to acquire and merge with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Streamers go a’gaming
Paramount is not the only one looking to get in on game action.
Multiple media companies and streamers are trying different ways to tap into consumers’ affinity for gaming. Efforts in the industry have spanned custom interactive games tied to IP, mobile games and easy-to-play cloud-based TV party games, among others. Different avenues on games have the potential to benefit streamers in various ways, be it deepening viewers’ connection with storylines and characters to help fuel fandoms, boosting engagement and encouraging daily habits and usage, or extending the utility of their subscription offering (which stands to impact engagement alongside retention) with casual TV party games played that don’t require dedicated hardware, as well as the potential for new monetization opportunities or revenue streams.
Netflix has rolled out a number of mobile games as well as games tied to IP, among its gaming pursuits. The SVOD giant’s most recent gaming effort is easy-to-play cloud-based party games for the TV that use mobile phones as the controller and involve popular classic titles like Tetris, Boggle Party, Pictionary: Game Night and more.
Netflix’s cloud-based TV gaming effort that doesn’t require expensive gaming hardware has shown “strong uptake” in the initial rollout and could potentially tap into a large market of those that like to game but don’t own hardware like consoles.
Per survey data from Omdia’s Consumer Research Spotlight, about 25-40% of adults in major developed and developing markets say they regularly play games on smartphones, tablets or PCs but don’t own gaming consoles. Globally, that addressable audience “could run into the hundreds of millions, and potentially billions if they can convince non-gamers to play,” Omdia analyst Rob Gallagher wrote in a blog.
NBCUniversal’s Peacock, meanwhile, is also dipping its toe in the gaming sphere via partnerships and mobile games tied to content. Earlier this year it teamed with Wolf Games to launch new exclusive AI-driven mobile games tied to IP for fans of Dick Wolf-created franchises like Law & Order. Just last week it announced a new daily interactive mini-game, Jeopardy! Today on the Peacock mobile app, a game created in collaboration with Lil Snack and Sony Pictures Television.
It’s the latest addition to Peacock’s suite of companion games and interactive experiences, which the company said have “become a meaningful driver of daily engagement for Peacock’s subscriber base” – with 10% of mobile users having played a game on Peacock. NBCU execs also noted leaning into IP that resonates with games, as 500,000 players have used a Wheel of Fortune game since it launched on Peacock.
And Paramount’s own pending acquiree made its own gaming announcement last week, with Warner Bros. Games’ global launch of Game of Thrones: Dragonfire. It’s a free-to-play mobile strategy game based on WBD’s original drama series House of the Dragon.
Notably, in addition to the connection to WBD GOT IP, the new game involves a first-of-its kind technology collaboration between HBO Max and Warner Bros. Games that rewards players for watching episodes of the show the game is based on. Players who link their HBO Max and game accounts can earn escalating in-game rewards by watching Season 3 of House of the Dragon, with each episode unlocking bespoke rewards, as well as a premium reward for completing the full season.
Fueling franchise fandom communities via games
For Paramount, Driscoll emphasized the goal is not only to build games, but to have them fuel communities around franchises.
“When done well, the games we develop are foundations for fan communities to grow inside these worlds," Driscoll commented. "The core games come first; you have to earn community with something worth caring about. But the ceiling on what these franchises can become is a function of how deeply fans can participate."
The Paramount Games Studio announcement also pointed at revenue and monetization opportunities from integrating brands into games. It noted that while at Epic Games, Driscoll built the IP Partner Program, which was the architecture behind how large brands show up in popular game Fortnite and is “bringing that same thinking to Paramount.”
And with the advent of new AI tools and the growth of the creator economy on platforms like Fortnite and Roblox, the company thinks new gaming ideas will be easier for more people to build.
“Many of the traditional constraints around skills and capital are going to start to fall away for a whole tier of interactive entertainment,” Driscoll continued. “For a company that owns a substantial portfolio of beloved IP, that's an enormous opportunity.”