That’s not all folks – Warner Bros. purchases Traveler’s Tales

Right after Warner Brothers opened its spanking new Australian office, the conglomerate turned around and snapped up UK games publisher Travelers Tales (best known for the recent Lego Star Wars titles). According to an interview in the Age Blogs’ Screenplay, Warner Brothers plans to use the purchase to expand into the lucrative game business, establishing itself with family-friendly titles that are so en vogue these days.

When prompted to list some upcoming games, WB’s Senior Vice President Development and Production Samantha Ryan had this to say:

“In 2008, we have a diverse line-up that speaks well to our strategy. First, we have the Speed Racer video game (developed by Sidhe in New Zealand) tied to the upcoming film, which we expect to be huge. Then, in the Fall we have Lego Batman, which combines two of the most beloved library franchises together. Finally, we have Project Origin, an original IP in the FPS space. We plan to keep this diversity each year, but increase the number of titles we publish.”

In addition, Ryan promised that Warner Brothers would be committed to developing new IP’s as well as releasing titles from established franchises.

Aha, so what do we think? Typical PR speak? There’s already been a bit of anxiety over the fate of Lego Indiana Jones (since that’s a Lucasfilm property, not Warner Brothers), but thankfully, that matter’s been cleared up (and will go ahead with production). But this news begs the question: what effect will all these corporate buy-outs have on our industry in the long run?

Read [Screenplay]