Key Notes
- Netflix reportedly offered $500 million for a seven-year exclusive Xbox film and television license, while Microsoft countered at $800 million and no agreement was reached.
- Puck says the offer is off the table following Bela Bajaria’s departure, with Xbox now exploring smaller agreements involving more partners.
- Existing collaborations remain separate, with Xbox pointing to forthcoming Minecraft and Diablo animated series and its wider strategy for adaptations through XP.
Netflix offered Microsoft $500 million for a seven-year exclusive license to adapt Xbox titles into films and television, but the companies did not reach an agreement, according to Puck. Xbox’s counteroffer was $800 million, leaving a $300 million gap between the two positions.
Puck’s Matthew Belloni reported, citing three sources, that Netflix’s then-content chief Bela Bajaria made the offer. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and her business affairs team proposed the higher figure. Belloni says the Netflix offer has since been withdrawn following Bajaria’s departure, rather than remaining an active negotiation.
A Licensing Proposal With Unpublished Details
Netflix finance chief Spence Neumann was among those who considered the proposed deal too expensive, according to the report. Xbox is now said to be exploring smaller agreements with more partners. Netflix declined to comment, while Xbox emphasized continuing interest in its properties and its existing relationship with the streamer.
The reported figures describe an offer and a counteroffer for adaptation rights, rather than money Microsoft received. They also concern a seven-year license, not a permanent sale of the underlying game franchises. There is no announced agreement transferring those rights under the proposed package.
The exact list of titles, treatment of existing adaptation agreements and other contractual conditions have not been disclosed. That limits comparisons with individual film or television deals: the headline sums alone do not establish what Netflix would have been able to make, which projects it would have financed or how revenue would have been shared.
Existing Netflix Projects Are Separate
Xbox’s response to Puck specifically pointed to forthcoming Minecraft and Diablo animated series with Netflix. The failed broader proposal therefore should not be treated as an announcement that the two companies have stopped working together or canceled those projects.
Mojang announced the Minecraft collaboration in May 2024, describing an original animated story with new characters set in its block-built universe. The series was announced for an exclusive Netflix debut. That is an existing, title-specific partnership, with its own development history preceding the reported Xbox-wide discussions.
Gears of War provides another example of the relationship. Netflix’s original announcement in November 2022 set out plans for a live-action film and an animated series in partnership with The Coalition. Those announced projects should be distinguished from any additional rights package the companies later considered.
Xbox Is Organizing Its Business Beyond Games
Microsoft has already given screen adaptations a more defined place within Xbox. On October 8, the company introduced XP, a division led by Kayleen Walters covering film and television, consumer products, partnerships and live experiences. Xbox Pictures is the part focused on bringing its worlds and characters into linear storytelling.
Xbox said the structure brings together capabilities that had previously been spread across different teams. Its stated aim is to extend game franchises to new audiences while keeping the games at their center. That official strategy helps explain the interest in adaptation partnerships without confirming the reported Netflix contract terms.
The wider industry is pursuing similar opportunities through individual properties. We previously reported on Nexon’s agreement with Chernin Entertainment for film and television adaptations of ARC Raiders and The Finals. That arrangement also illustrates the distinction between securing an adaptation partner and announcing a finished production, cast or release date.
