Only two months into 2025, and things haven’t been great for Warner Bros.’ video game output. Both Suicide Squad and MultiVersus are fully done, and the studios within the company have been in a weird place the past couple of years.
A recent Bloomberg report digs into the troubled times, most of which stem from recently departed president David Haddad. Developers told Bloomberg it’d take months to get answers from him or his team, and that the entire game division lacked any real direction as they just chased trends. That’s how Suicide Squad and Gotham Knights came about: live-service games were popular, so Rocksteady and WB Games Montreal were conscripted to make those type of games, despite not having real experience making them. In WB Montreal’s case, Knights was preceded by a general desire for a live-service Batman game, and after Knights’ launch and the pitch to rework the game was shot down, the studio pitched two separate projects based around Constantine and the Flash. The first was rejected in favor of a “more recognizable” character, hence the Flash… but then the 2023 movie happened, and the rest is history.
Speaking of bigger name characters, you remember Wonder Woman was getting her own game from Shadow of War developer Monolith? That’s reportedly rebooted and changed directors as of early 2024, and is said to still be “years away” from release. The newer version was described as a more conventional action-adventure game rather than one built on the Nemesis system previously introduced in Monolith’s two Middle-earth games, owing to new leadership at the studio and “challenges” with the game’s technology. While development continues, Bloomberg notes the game’s status “remains in question”—it’s already cost $100 million to make thus far and has WB Montreal pitching in to help, so WB could just cancel it entirely.
And what of Rocksteady, now that it’s finished with Suicide Squad? Bloomberg reports the team’s returned to Batman with a new single-player game, but much like Wonder Woman, it’s going to be a while before it comes out. If WB has its way, those two titles, along with a Hogwarts Legacy sequel from Avalanche Software and a potential Game of Thrones project from WB Games Montreal, will release over the next several years. JB Perrette, the company’s streaming and games head, said WB’s willing to stick with the medium for the long-term. But is the audience willing to keep giving them chances?
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
