Netflix has acquired Warner Bros. in a major deal that could disrupt everything in the world of TV and movies. This could open the door to some Warner Bros. content making it to Netflix, including Game of Thrones for the first time ever.
Netflix’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters have agreed to buy Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion. There are still steps that are needed to take to fully take control, but 2026 could see some major changes to the home for content due to the deal. The move comes just as HBO announced dates for its streaming platform, HBO Max, to go internationally, and now there will be questions about what the acquisition means for that.
Game of Thrones could finally go to Netflix
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the biggest part of the deal for Netflix is being able to offer users more choice, allowing people to “optimize its plans.” This would hint that there is an attempt to move the content, whether under an exclusive move or non-exclusive, with the shows and movies being available on both HBO Max and Netflix.
Either way, it would mark the first time Game of Thrones could realistically head to Netflix. While there has certainly been some comments about it in the past, there was never a reason for Warner Bros. to share its biggest show with Netflix. It’s not like Game of Thrones was struggling to get the viewership, as it continually grew its linear audience numbers season after season, something that most shows are unable to do.
It took a move like this with Netflix acquiring the content for Netflix to get its hands on one of the biggest IPs in history.
What about the rest of the Game of Thrones franchise?
Then there is the rest of the franchise. House of the Dragon is also available to stream on HBO Max, with a third season slated to arrive in summer 2026 and a fourth season confirmed and slated to arrive in 2028. We also have A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which will debut on Sunday, Jan. 18 on HBO and HBO Max, with a second season confirmed and in the works, slated for a 2027 release.
Could the Netflix deal shift the releases? This isn’t known just yet, but it could mean that we see both of these shows arrive on Netflix as well as HBO Max.
So little is known about what’s going to happen with the move, and there are many worried about it, considering Warner Bros. has so many movies and shows planned for the rest of the 2020s. What it could do is get Game of Thrones and its franchise on Netflix to make it easier for people internationally to watch it, and that could be a great thing for the franchise as a whole.
Game of Thrones is still only currently available on HBO Max.