Xbox wanted $800 million from Netflix. That’s according to Puck, whose Matthew Belloni reports that Netflix offered Microsoft $500 million for seven years of exclusive film and TV rights to Xbox’s games, only for Xbox to come back asking for $800 million. The deal is now said to be off the table. This is a report, not an announcement: neither company has confirmed the figures.
What Puck reported
Puck’s report, citing three sources familiar with the situation and relayed by VGC, says Netflix went after Xbox’s IP with a $500 million offer covering seven years, with the shows and films to be exclusive to Netflix. Belloni says the offer came from Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s former chief content officer, and that Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and the Xbox business affairs team countered with $800 million.
That’s a gap of $300 million, and it never got closed. According to Puck, Bajaria left Netflix before anything was agreed, and with her gone the deal is dead. Peter Rice, a former Disney executive, is taking over as Netflix’s chief content officer.
Instead of one big exclusive package, Xbox is now reportedly “pursuing smaller deals with more partners”. As relayed by GameSpot, Belloni points to projects including the Diablo animated series at Netflix and a sequel to A Minecraft Movie at Warner Bros. Pictures as examples of that approach.
What Xbox and Netflix said
Xbox didn’t confirm or deny the numbers. In a statement to Puck, it 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 declined to comment.
The same core details (the $500 million offer, the $800 million counter and both companies’ responses) have also been reported by GamesRadar+ and Insider Gaming, but every outlet is working from Puck’s reporting. There’s no independent confirmation of the figures.
Where Xbox’s games are already heading
Netflix and Xbox aren’t strangers. Netflix and Mojang announced an animated Minecraft series in 2024, and Blizzard confirmed a Diablo animated series with Netflix at BlizzCon 2026, so the world of Diablo IV is heading to the streamer either way. Neither show has a release date yet.
Halo, the biggest name of the lot, is a different story. Paramount’s live-action Halo series debuted in 2022, a second season followed in February 2024, and the show was cancelled in July 2024. In an earlier newsletter, Puck reported that the Halo rights had reverted to Xbox, and that Xbox had been pitching Hollywood a package of more than a dozen games, Halo and Diablo among them. For now, Master Chief’s latest adventure is still Halo Infinite.
All of this comes shortly after Xbox announced XP on 8th October, a new division covering film and television, consumer products, partnerships and live experiences. It’s led by Kayleen Walters, previously head of Mojang, and includes Xbox Pictures, which will handle film and TV projects based on Xbox games.
So Xbox’s games are still heading for the screen. They just won’t be going to one streamer in one huge deal, if Puck is right. We’ll update this if Microsoft or Netflix says anything more.
