NBCUniversal eyes video games as it preps for life after Comcast
NBCUniversal is preparing to stand on its own for the first time in over a decade. Comcast (CMCSA) is splitting its cable and broadband operations from its media and entertainment assets, a separation set to leave NBCUniversal as an independent company. The timeline is set. The strategy is not.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts called the split the better way to move forward for both halves of the business, according to Reuters.
That explains why the company is splitting. It says nothing about what the newly independent NBCUniversal plans to do with its freedom.
Michael Cavanagh, who will run NBCUniversal once the split closes, came closer to an answer without naming a target.
He said the company now has the freedom to explore adjacent businesses where it has, in his words, the right to play, according to Reuters reporting.
A lean machine without an anchor
The architecture of the separation makes that right to play a corporate necessity. Under the formal split structure reported by CBS News, Comcast will keep the safe, cash-generating broadband and wireless infrastructure.
The newly independent NBCUniversal will inherit the more volatile content engine, pulling together Universal Pictures, the Peacock streaming platform, and the European media giant Sky under Cavanagh's leadership.
The division leaves the entertainment company fully exposed to a brutal landscape of streaming rivalries.
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It also follows a quiet housecleaning. Comcast recently wrapped up the separation of its traditional, declining cable channels like MSNBC and CNBC into an entirely separate entity called Versant Media.
With that legacy weight cut loose, the standalone NBCUniversal is lean, but it lacks a steady, recurring utility revenue to balance the cyclical nature of box office hits and theme park attendance.
That vulnerability turns the company from a casual buyer into a potential target. A standalone NBCUniversal becomes an attractive acquisition prize for tech giants like Netflix, which is looking for premium studio infrastructure after losing a massive bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery.
To maintain its independence, NBCUniversal must scale up on its own terms, and fast.
The freedom Cavanagh mentioned has a name
That target turns out to be video games. Three people with direct knowledge of NBCUniversal's planning told Reuters the company is weighing entry into digital gaming and new entertainment franchises as part of its post-split growth plan.
No deals have been discussed, and any transaction would likely wait until after the split is final.
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The interest is not random. NBCUniversal already has a partnership with Nintendo that produced two animated films, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" and "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," each of which grossed more than $1 billion at the global box office.
For a studio testing whether gaming IP travels to the screen, that case study sits inside its own portfolio.
The Roberts family has circled gaming before
This is not the first time a Roberts has eyed the gaming industry. Brian Roberts previously explored acquiring Activision and Electronic Arts (EA), and weighed taking an equity stake in Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, people familiar with the talks told Reuters.
His son, Tucker Roberts, already runs Comcast's gaming division and has advised his father on expanding into South Korea's esports market.
That history gives the latest speculation more weight than a passing line from a new CEO. It also explains why outside analysts have started naming concrete targets.
The Hollywood Reporter has floated Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), pointing to a library built around Grand Theft Auto, whose long-delayed sixth installment has already logged more than $3 billion in preorders ahead of its release.
A media company's pivot fits a bigger industry shift
NBCUniversal's interest in gaming points to a broader reality playing out across traditional media.
Streaming growth has hit a wall and linear TV ad revenue is in a steady freefall, leaving legacy entertainment companies scrambling for interactive franchises to capture the growth they can no longer find on a television screen.
For now, the strategy remains a blueprint. No formal talks have begun, the separation is still a year out, and NBCUniversal's leadership is keeping its cards close.
The real test will be what Cavanagh does once he is completely on his own, whether he bets the company's future on a major gaming studio, or guides this new independent giant toward a completely unexpected pivot.
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This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 1:00 PM.