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As of October 7, 2026, Skydance Corporation owns Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), following completion of its acquisition on October 6. The combined company’s portfolio includes Warner Bros., DC, Nickelodeon, and the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise. That corporate ownership does not tell you who developed or published every individual game, or what a private game license allows.

Who owns Batman and SpongeBob now?

Skydance Corporation completed its acquisition of WBD on October 6, 2026, and calls the combined company Skydance. Its completion announcement lists Warner Bros. and DC among its brands, and SpongeBob SquarePants among its franchises. In corporate terms, Batman is a DC property within the WBD portfolio; SpongeBob is part of the combined company’s portfolio associated with Nickelodeon.

This answers who sits above those brands in the corporate structure. It does not, on its own, identify the publisher or developer of a particular game, or establish the terms of any game license.

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What does “game rights” mean?

People often use “game rights” to mean several different roles. They are related, but they are not interchangeable:

#1 Best Overall
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LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight - PlayStation 5
  • Main Story - Bruce Wayne’s journey from origin to legend as he trains with The League of Shadows, becomes the hero of Gotham City, and forges a new family of allies with Jim Gordon, Catwoman, Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl. Confront an ever-growing threat from across Batman’s Rogues Gallery as you face The Joker, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Bane, and more
  • 7 Playable Characters - Batman, Jim Gordon, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Catwoman, and Talia al Ghul each bring unique skills and signature gadgets as you uncover crimes, complete challenges, and explore an immersive Gotham City full of secrets and surprises
  • 100 Suits - Inspired by Batman’s 86-year legacy, you’ll find an array of Batsuits alongside individual outfits for every playable character
  • 20+ Vehicles - A range of Batmobiles and Batcycles to drive around Gotham City's open world in style. Including iconic rides like the legendary Tumbler
  • 250+ Batcave Props & Trophies - Customize and display a wide range of items to personalize your Batcave and celebrate your achievements
  • Corporate parent: The company that owns the broader company or portfolio.
  • Franchise or brand: The property and characters a game is based on, such as Batman within DC.
  • Publisher: The company identified as publishing a specific game.
  • Developer: The studio that created a game or a particular version of it.
  • License scope: The permissions granted for a specific use, which may be limited by title, platform, territory, or time.

A publisher credit does not make that publisher the franchise owner, and a developer credit does not establish who owns the characters. A public announcement can confirm named roles for a game without revealing the underlying contract.

What the public record confirms for Batman and SpongeBob

Property or example Publicly confirmed What that does not establish
Batman DC is part of WBD, now owned by Skydance. Warner Bros. Games named TT Games as developer and Warner Bros. Games as publisher of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight in its May 19, 2026 announcement. The announcement does not disclose every Batman game license or the terms governing other titles.
SpongeBob SquarePants Skydance’s October 6, 2026 completion announcement includes SpongeBob SquarePants among its franchises and Nickelodeon among its brands. That portfolio listing does not identify the publisher, developer, or licensee for any particular SpongeBob game.

Batman games show why the credits matter

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Warner Bros. Games’ May 19, 2026 announcement identifies TT Games as the developer and Warner Bros. Games as the publisher. It also describes DC as part of WBD and Batman and related characters and elements as DC properties. These are the title-specific roles and corporate relationship the announcement supports; they should not be generalized to every Batman game.

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Batman: Arkham Trilogy
  • Become Gotham City’s ultimate protector across the iconic Batman: Arkham Trilogy.
  • Experience Rocksteady Studios’ critically acclaimed gameplay and AAA original storytelling across all 3 games, PLUS all DLC, in one complete package.
  • Some features may require an internet connection and an online subscription.

Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Nintendo Switch

Warner Bros. Games’ June 20, 2023 FAQ separates the original games from the Switch version: Rocksteady Studios originally developed the games, Turn Me Up Games developed the Nintendo Switch version, and Warner Bros. Games published that version. The credits illustrate that development can differ between an original release and a port while the publisher remains the same.

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What is known—and not known—about the contracts

The cited corporate announcements and game materials establish the current parent-company portfolio and the named roles for the specific Batman examples above. They do not publish every franchise-by-franchise game agreement, transfer clause, exclusivity term, territory, or third-party sublicense. Consequently, the acquisition supports the current corporate ownership answer, but it is not evidence that every existing game license transferred unchanged or is administered identically.

Rank #3
Gotham Knights (PS5)
  • Play as a New Guard of DC Super Heroes – Step into the roles of Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin and shape Gotham’s newest protector to create your own version of the Dark Knight.
  • Action-Packed, Original Story Set in DC’s Batman Universe – With the Belfry as their base of operations, this new era of heroes will solve mysteries that connect the darkest chapters in Gotham’s history – from its soaring towers to its underground criminal network. Embark on rich storylines,
  • Explore and Fight Crime in an Open-World Gotham City – Patrol the dark streets of five distinct boroughs in a dynamic, interactive Gotham using a variety of traversal abilities and heroic combat moves, as well as the iconic Batcycle. From street-level crimefighting to face-offs with iconic DC Super-Villains, save the city from descent into chaos.
  • Unique Character Abilities and Customization – Each hero has unique abilities, gear, weapons and a customizable suit. Batgirl wields her melee tonfa Nightwing uses his signature dual escrima sticks; Red Hood has trained to reach peak human strength; and Robin is expertly skilled with his collapsible quarter staff.
  • Please note that although this game is Region Free or Region Unlocked and will work on all systems, this is the international version and may differ from the local version in age rating, labeling or instructions.

For a particular game, rely on that title’s official announcement or credits for its publisher and developer. Treat the precise scope of its license as unknown unless the relevant company has publicly stated it.

Quick Recap

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Batman: Arkham Trilogy
Batman: Arkham Trilogy
Become Gotham City’s ultimate protector across the iconic Batman: Arkham Trilogy.; Some features may require an internet connection and an online subscription.
$26.99
Bestseller No. 3
Rank #4
Batman: Arkham Collection - PlayStation 4
  • Batman: Arkham Collection brings you the definitive versions of Rocksteady's Arkham Trilogy games, including all post-launch content, in one complete collection.
  • Experience two of the most critically acclaimed titles of the last generation - Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, with fully remastered and updated visuals.
  • Complete your experience with the explosive finale to the Arkham series in Batman: Arkham Knight.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.