Warner Bros. forms DC Entertainment

Batman: Arkham Asylum has sold almost two million copies in less than a month, according to published reports. This kind of success with a DC comics-based game is one of several reasons that Warner Bros. is creating DC Entertainment, a brand new company dedicated to taking care of DC Comics properties. The new division will be headed up by Diane Nelson, the current president of Warner Premiere. Warner Bros. says that this new division will attempt to find the full potential of DC related products including games, films, television and other media.

Naturally this is a good idea given that Disney now owns Marvel Entertainment and will no doubt be doing its best to bring popular Marvel franchises to multiple fronts including TV, movies, comic books, and naturally video games.

The final days of The Matrix Online

Time is running out for players of Warner Bros. movie-based MMO, The Matrix Online. The game is set to shut down on July 31, 2009 for good. A note a The Matrix Online community manager has some slightly good news for those former subscribers that couldn’t get into the game for its last hurrahs; you’ll have your chance after all:

THE MATRIX ONLINE has always been a place where friends get together and have fun, be it in a club dancing to your favorite DJ’s tunes or adventuring and taking on seemingly insurmountable odds. We understand that some of your friends might not have had the opportunity to hop back into the game before the June 1st cutoff date.

We’ve heard your call and wanted to help oblige THE MATRIX ONLINE players both past and present so they can log in and have the opportunity to reminisce with old friends and participate in the final days of the game.

If you are a former player of THE MATRIX ONLINE with an inactive account, and your account was in good standing (e.g., you are not suspended or banned from playing) when you last logged in, you will now be able to log in and play THE MATRIX ONLINE for no subscription fee until the game’s closure on July 31st, 2009.

We look forward to taking Mega City down in style…together!

Please note that this opportunity to return to THE MATRIX ONLINE does not include any trial offers provided to players who had active accounts in good standing prior to June 1, 2009.

If you are a former player that wants to enjoy that last moments of this game, now is the time to do so, because soon it will be gone.. forever.

Mortal Kombat studio renamed WB Games Chicago

Midway’s team behind the popular Mortal Kombat franchise (amongst other things) has been renamed WB Games Chicago by Warner Bros., according to published reports. The new name surfaced when several employees updated their LinkedIn profiles with the new company name. Warner Bros. purchased the studio and the Mortal Kombat brand for an estimated 33 million USD.

Of particular note is the LinkedIn profile of former Midway Chief Technology Officer, Michael Weilbacher, whose new title is “Head of a Game studio in Chicago at WB Games Inc.”

‘Nuff said.

Green Lantern game rumored

According to a report on VentureBeat, citing several undisclosed sources, a Green Lantern video game is in the works and is believed to be linked to the Green Lantern film from Casino Royale and Goldeneye director Martin Campbell. According to this report, the game will be developed by Double Helix, who most recently worked on the G.I. Joe movie tie-in games and Silent Hill Homecoming.

Of course, it doesn’t make a lot of sense if it is true, considering that Warner Bros. owns Snowblind Studios, who made the wonderful Justice League Heroes games for PS2, PSP and Xbox. Both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game are in the works, says VentureBeat.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros is not talking about this story, saying only that it does not comment on rumor and speculation.

Midway Sale to Warner Bros. Deal Approved

Chicago-based Midway, a once powerful gaming giant, has now gained approval to sell to Warner Bros. for $33 million. A Delaware bankruptcy judge found that all outstanding issues with the sale have been resolved and proceedings can move forward. The sale will cover “substantially all” of Midway’s assets to Warner Bros., the only company to place a bid.

If the sale goes through, Warner Bros. would assume control of the intellectual property for Mortal Kombat, Wheelman and most other current and older Midway assets. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty psyched about the thought of Mortal Kombat vs. F.E.A.R. or Wanted vs. Blitz.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game released

The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game is in stores today bearing the EA Play Label. Available on a multitude of platforms for maximum impact, the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game allows players to experience a dash of the film based on J.K. Rowling’s sixth book in the Harry Potter series.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, players return to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a sixth year as the wizard in training comes of age. Players will use gesture-based spell-casting as they explore the Hogwarts school grounds including the Astronomy Tower, Professor Slughorn’s Potions classroom, the Gryffindor common room, the Great Hall and more. For the first time players can move and cast spells simultaneously, allowing for fast paced wizard duels, catch the Golden Snitch as the Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, mix potions and more.

Developed by EA Bright Light, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game is available for the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Windows PC, Mac, and mobile devices. The Wii, PS3 system, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PC, and Mac versions are rated ‘E10+’ and the handheld versions are rated ‘E’ for Everyone by the ESRB.

For more details check out the game’s official site.

WBIE highest bidder in Midway Auction..

According to several sources, most notably the L.A. Times, Warner Bros. has emerged as the sole bidder in the Midway bankruptcy auction - an event that the company had hoped would pull its fanny ever so slightly out of the financial fire. Midway put its assets up for auction in hopes of getting a high asking price than the 33 million USD that Warner Bros. wanted to give them, but no other offers came in.

Midway spokesman Geoff Mogilner told the L.A. times that the auction was basically “off” at this point.

Where Midway goes from here is unknown at this time. Does it accept the offers from Warner Bros. or keep looking for better deals? According to the report a Chicago investment firm and several publishers were interested in the auction, but apparently not enough to go above and beyond what WBIE has on the table.

Adding to the complication is a Tigon Studios claim that Midway owes it $200,000 for work on the Wheelman game and filmmaker Larry Kasanoff’s lawsuit over the Mortal Kombat rights..