Warner Bros. dives into social games with new San Francisco studio

While Warner Bros. properties have been found in social or free-to-play games in the past (like The Wizard of Oz and Lord of the Rings), Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has just announced the launch of a new studio that will take the company much farther into that territory.

WB Games San Francisco will serve as the company's hub for "developing and publishing high-quality, free-to-play, mobile, social and browser-based games," according to a company release. Senior VP of Digital Games at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Greg Ballard, will lead the new studio when it opens this year.

"The Bay Area is the home of social and mobile gaming and WB Games San Francisco is Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's opportunity to expand our game development capabilities into the epicenter of the digital world," said Ballard. "San Francisco is a hotbed of local talent and convenient access to major partners, and this will help us achieve our goal to bring our top entertainment and gaming brands, as well as original IP, to multiple mobile, social and emerging platforms."

On top of just developing games, WB Games San Francisco will also oversee the mobile games developed by Warner Bros. Interactive proper. Unfortunately, further details about the company's upcoming plans or games are still under wraps, but you can be sure that we'll bring you all of the news you need to know as soon as it becomes available. Stay tuned!

Are you excited for the potential rush of WB games that could launch on mobile or Facebook in the coming months? Sound off in the comments!