Turbine's specialty is in creating massively multi-player online games such as Asheron's Call, Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online. Warner acquired the movie rights to the "Lord of The Rings" trilogy and "The Hobbit" when it acquired New Line in 2008. Turbine's game license fit neatly into Warner's portfolio of licenses from the estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien.

For Warner, Turbine's expertise in building online games could come in handy should the studio want to launch online games to go with blockbuster movie releases. Another bonus: Turbine has had some success getting online players to pay for virtual goods for its Dungeons & Dragons game.