800 million: the crazy exclusivity contract proposed by Microsoft to Netflix… which ultimately never saw the light of day

Xbox wanted to offer an $800 million contract for the exclusive use of its licenses... But the offer was refused!

The year 2026 is clearly a decisive year for Microsoft and its subsidiary Xbox, which are increasing changes, restructuring and other attempts to turn things around and make maximum savings and profits. And, obviously, this doesn’t just happen through gaming. We have just learned that Xbox wanted to offer an $800 million contract to Netflix to grant them exclusivity on adaptations of its biggest licenses for seven years!

But, obviously, Netflix would not have been really attracted by the offer and simply declined the proposal.

Has Xbox had its eyes bigger than its stomach? Or does Netflix not believe at all in the future of Microsoft licensing? In any case, the streaming platform did not wish to invest 800 million dollars to provide exclusivity for adaptations of all Xbox licenses for the next seven years.

A fairly substantial sum, but which is clearly not crazy if we compare to the 100 million dollars paid by Netflix to afford the 26-minute presentation of GTA 6 at the end of August. However, the streaming platform did not wish to offer this new gaming exclusivity.

According to the American media Puck, Netflix and Xbox were in talks to obtain the Xbox license catalog, but its price is chilling. Ultimately, the discussions ended in the failure of a financial agreement of pharaonic proportions.

Netflix, for its part, asked for 500 million to obtain exclusivity for adaptations of Xbox licenses into films or series for the next seven years. Among these licenses, we could cite Starfield, Halo, Gears Of War or even Forza. But, for its part, Microsoft was more greedy, asking for 800 million dollars. This counter-proposal would clearly not have been to the taste of Netflix, which would have simply stopped all negotiations.

Contacted by the press, Netflix did not wish to comment, while an Xbox employee declared:

“We are receiving record interest in our intellectual properties. Netflix is ​​a valued partner and we are excited about the upcoming release of our animated series Minecraft and Diablo together, among other adaptations.”

Currently, several adaptations are in preparation, including animated series Minecraft and Diablo at Netflix, but also Fallout at Amazon Prime. An adaptation of the Halo license was canceled at Paramount+ after two disappointing seasons. Several rumors also point to a The Elder Scrolls project in the works.

Machine-translated from French