Warner Bros. to acquire Machinima

Warner Bros. has been an investor in Machinima for years, but it's about to own the whole thing. As reported by Deadline today, Warner Bros. has reached an agreement to acquire the rest of the video creator network.

Machinima has "enormous reach and high engagement with audiences that play our games and are big fans of DC films and television shows," Warner Bros. Digital Networks president Craig Hunegs told the site. "Machinima also produces great, high-quality content for their community, and together we can create an even more compelling experience and do some really exciting things involving our key franchises. This acquisition is another meaningful move forward as Warner Bros. develops more direct relationships with our consumers."

With Machinima's focus on gaming and fandom and Warner Bros.' deep catalog of IP including DC Comics properties like Batman and gaming franchises like Mortal Kombat, there's room for synergy in the acquisition.

"We'll now be able to take full advantage of Warner Bros.' intellectual property, sales and distribution, while still creating content for social and premium digital platforms that gamers and geeks love," Machinima CEO Chad Gutstein said. "Plus, we'll be fully embedded and can help Warner Bros. continue their incredible digital marketing successes. It's honestly a win-win."

Warner Bros. first got involved with Machinima in 2014 when it led an $18 million funding round in the company. It upped its investment early last year in another funding round of $24 million. According to Crunchbase, Machinima has raised nearly $92 million in seven different funding rounds. Deadline reported that it brought in around $25 million in revenue last year.