Netflix offered Microsoft $500 million over seven years for the rights to adapt Xbox franchises into film and television, Puck reports, according to GamesIndustry.biz. Neither company has confirmed the report. Puck says Xbox executives, including Asha Sharma, turned the offer down and asked for $800 million.
Puck’s sources say the bid came from Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s former chief content officer. She left the company earlier this month, and Peter Rice, who previously worked at Disney and Fox, has replaced her. The offer has reportedly been withdrawn since her departure. According to Puck, Xbox is now looking at smaller deals with additional partners.
Netflix declined to comment on the reported offer. Xbox’s statement did not address it directly but said the company has seen “record-breaking interest in our I.P.” It also called Netflix “a valued partner” and pointed to upcoming animated series based on Minecraft and Diablo that the two companies are making together.
The report follows Xbox’s announcement earlier this month of XP, a new division for transmedia projects such as film, TV and theme parks. GamesIndustry.biz reports that the unit is led by Kayleen Walters, the current president of Minecraft developer Mojang Studios.
Xbox is pushing into adaptations in the middle of a wider reset. GamesIndustry.biz reports that about 3,200 jobs have been lost and five studios divested, Arkane Lyon among them. Microsoft has extended its consultation period by a month while it looks for a new buyer for the French studio, which is still developing Marvel’s Blade.
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