Netflix reportedly offered Microsoft 0 million to license Xbox games for adaptations

Netflix reportedly offered Microsoft $500 million to license Xbox games for adaptations

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Netflix sought exclusive adaptation rights to Microsoft’s Xbox game catalog for seven years with a $500 million offer, but Microsoft countered at $800 million. Following executive departures at the streaming platform, the high-stakes negotiation collapsed, prompting Microsoft to pursue smaller licensing agreements with multiple studio partners.

Netflix Open at Half a Billion Dollars for Seven-Year Catalog Exclusivity

The entertainment industry’s race to turn hit video games into lucrative film and television franchises hit a major hurdle when a massive deal between Netflix and Microsoft fell apart.

Behind-the-scenes talks revealed that Netflix had approached the gaming giant with a substantial opening proposal. This offer was $500 million for seven years of exclusive rights to adapt Xbox gaming properties into streamable movies and TV series.

The proposed arrangement would have locked up major gaming intellectual property so that any resulting screen adaptations appeared on Netflix and nowhere else for the duration of the term. Yet the pitch ran into immediate resistance over valuation. Rather than accepting the half-billion-dollar opening bid, the leadership team at Microsoft returned with an aggressive counteroffer.

Asha Sharma and the Microsoft Business Affairs Team Counter at $800 Million

Led by Microsoft CEO Asha Sharma and the brand’s business affairs division, Microsoft pushed back by demanding $800 million for the seven-year exclusivity window.

The resulting $300 million gap proved insurmountable. Inside the streaming company, executives including chief financial officer Spence Neumann balked at the steep asking price.

Timing also compounded the deadlock. The initial pitch originated from former Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria.

Bajaria spearheaded the negotiations before leaving the company amid a broader wave of corporate layoffs affecting roughly 1,000 employees. With Bajaria’s exit and Netflix leadership unwilling to meet the $800 million demand, the entire agreement was taken off the table and abandoned.

Netflix reportedly offered Microsoft $500 million to license Xbox games for adaptations
Photo: GamingBolt

Weighed Against Existing Multi-Studio Deals and Franchise Availability

Industry analysts noted a fundamental friction in the negotiations: many of Microsoft’s premier franchises were already tied to competing platforms or separate production houses. Amazon Prime Video anchors the acclaimed Fallout television series, while Paramount Pictures oversees a blockbuster Call of Duty movie project. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s troubled live-action Halo series on Paramount debuted in 2022, returned for a second season in February 2024, and faced cancellation just five months later.

Major Blizzard franchises like Warcraft, StarCraft, and Overwatch remained on the table alongside Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls, ID Software’s Doom, Obsidian Entertainment’s The Outer Worlds, and Forza. Blizzard Entertainment president Johanna Faries recently teased that Overwatch and Warcraft could receive a similar treatment, while Dan Lin served as film chief during the recent shakeups alongside Bajaria.

Despite the collapse of the blanket exclusivity deal, ongoing creative partnerships between Microsoft and Netflix survived the fallout. Both companies remain actively involved in collaborative projects, including animated series based on Minecraft and Diablo, alongside a live-action Gears of War film currently moving through production.

Microsoft XP and the New Focus on Smaller Licensing Agreements

Rather than committing its entire portfolio to a single streaming home, Microsoft is altering its multimedia expansion strategy. The company recently launched a dedicated division named Microsoft XP, headed by Lucasfilm veteran Kayleen Walters, to oversee movies, television, merchandise, theme parks, and live events. Within that structure, Microsoft Pictures handles film and television projects on a project-by-project basis.

Rejecting a monolithic multi-year contract allows Microsoft to distribute its massive library across various studios and platforms simultaneously.

More on Microsoft: Microsoft Confirms Major Xbox Live Outage Disrupting Global Sign-Ins · Microsoft and Partners Open Pre-Orders for RTX Spark Windows PCs · Microsoft Rolls Out Windows 11 Version 26H2 as Enablement Package

We have received record-breaking interest in our IP; Netflix is a valued partner and we are excited for the forthcoming release of our Minecraft and Diablo animated series together, among other adaptations.

Microsoft, via Puck News

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