Netflix offered Microsoft $500m to exclusively license Xbox games for film and TV adaptations, but the deal fell apart after Xbox asked for $800m, according to a report from Puck.
Matthew Belloni reported the details in Puck's What I'm Hearing newsletter on October 23rd, citing three sources. According to the report, Bela Bajaria, then Netflix's content chief, made the offer recently, and it covered seven years.
Xbox's Asha Sharma and her business affairs team came back with a counteroffer of $800m. Puck reported that the Netflix offer has since been taken off the table following Bajaria's exit from the streamer, and that Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Spence Neumann was among those at Netflix who thought the deal was too rich.
What Xbox and Netflix said
Netflix declined to comment on the report. Xbox is now said to be pursuing smaller deals with more partners instead.
In a statement to Puck, Xbox said: "We have received record-breaking interest in our I.P.; Netflix is a valued partner and we are excited for the forthcoming release of our Minecraft and Diablo animated series together, among other adaptations."
Netflix's new content chief
Bajaria was fired by Netflix earlier this month and is being replaced by Peter Rice, a veteran of Disney and Fox, who joins the streamer as Chief Content Officer next week. According to Puck, Rice is expected to pursue more intellectual property (IP) deals to bring franchises to Netflix.
