Netflix Pulls $500M Xbox Film/TV Offer After $800M Counter

Netflix withdrew a $500 million offer for a seven-year exclusive license to Xbox titles for film and television after Xbox countered with a demand of $800 million, according to a Puck News report by Matthew Belloni cited by GameSpot.

Netflix declined to comment on the report. Xbox told Belloni that it had received record-breaking interest in its intellectual property and still values Netflix as a partner on upcoming projects.

The counter-demand was made by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and the brand's business affairs team, according to the report. Xbox is now pursuing smaller deals with more partners for its IP.

Earlier this month, Xbox announced Xbox XP, a new arm devoted to movies, TV, merchandise, theme parks and live events, to be headed by Lucasfilm veteran Kayleen Walters. Xbox Pictures, a subdivision of Xbox XP, will develop film and television projects using Xbox IP.

Netflix already has a deal in place with Microsoft to develop a Gears of War movie, and a Diablo animated series is in development at the streamer. Other Xbox properties are also moving forward elsewhere: another season of Fallout is in the works at Prime Video, a Call of Duty movie is in development at Paramount, and a sequel to A Minecraft Movie is in development at Warner Bros. Pictures.