Skydance has decided how its newly enlarged games business will be run. In a memo to staff on Tuesday, obtained by Variety, Skydance president Andy Gordon named Tony Driscoll president of games and experiences, a role that puts Warner Bros. Games and Paramount’s own games studio under one leader.
The move follows the close of Paramount’s $110 billion-plus merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, with the combined company now operating as Skydance. As VGC reports, the newly formed Paramount Games Studio will be combined with Warner Bros. Games’ internal developers. That group includes Avalanche Software, the Hogwarts Legacy studio, NetherRealm Studios of Mortal Kombat, Batman: Arkham developer Rocksteady Studios, Lego game specialists TT Games, and WB Games Montreal.
Paramount Games Studio itself is new. Paramount formed it earlier this year by merging Skydance Interactive and Skydance New Media, and its slate includes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin and Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, along with Skydance’s own projects. Driscoll, who previously worked at Epic Games and Warner Bros., has led that studio since it launched.
“We’re investing in our future growth engines alongside our core ambitions in TV, Film and direct-to-consumer: Games, Experiences, Consumer Products, and Publishing,” Gordon wrote. “These are core pillars of our strategy to build engagement and fandom in both the physical and digital worlds.”
Driscoll sent his own note to the team, describing a division that spans theme parks, resorts, retail, and studio tours as well as games. “We immerse our players in action, adventure, combat, competition and creativity, from ‘Batman’ to ‘SpongeBob,'” he wrote, adding that his first priority in the coming weeks is meeting as many staff as he can, “from LA to London, Montreal to Tokyo, and beyond.”
Gordon’s memo also named Josh Silverman president of global products and publishing and said Skydance sees “opportunities to build on DC Comics’ storytelling.” Skydance has not said whether any game studios will be merged, sold, or cut, and its leadership has already warned of “difficult decisions” as it pursues more than $6 billion in savings. For that backdrop, see RCG’s report on Skydance closing the Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
