Microsoft Expresses Interest in Acquiring Warner Game Unit

Microsoft has expressed interest in acquiring the games division of Warner Bros., the publisher behind popular game franchises based on Batman, Harry Potter and other characters, according to two people familiar with the situation.

An acquisition of the business, which consists of game development studios scattered around the U.S., Canada and the U.K., would help Microsoft expand the game-making capabilities of its Xbox group. But Warner’s parent, AT&T, hasn’t yet decided whether to sell the business. It is weighing the possibility as it looks at ways of paying down its $154 billion in debt, which stems partly from its 2018 acquisition of Time Warner, now known as WarnerMedia.