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It’s no secret that Warner Brothers Discovery has had challenges in recent years. And this, sadly, extended to their gaming division. As a result, the company is shuttering legendary studios. In addition, they are canceling their upcoming Wonder Woman title as well.
WB Games Shuts Down Three Studios
Originally reported on by Jason Schreier and later confirmed by WB Games, three studios have closed their doors. The studios that shut down include Player First Games(Multiverses), Monolith Productions (FEAR, Condemned, Shadow of Mordor), and Warner Bros. Games San Diego.
WB has given the following statement regarding the decision to shutter the studios, saying the following to Kotaku when asked.
We have had to make some very difficult decisions to structure our development studios and investments around building the best games possible with our key franchises -– Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones. After careful consideration, we are closing three of our development studios – Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. This is a strategic change in direction and not a reflection of these teams or the talent that consists within them.
The development of Monolith’s Wonder Woman videogame will not move forward. Our hope was to give players and fans the highest quality experience possible for the iconic character, and unfortunately this is no longer possible within our strategic priorities. This is another tough decision, as we recognize Monolith’s storied history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games. We greatly admire the passion of the three teams and thank every employee for their contributions. As difficult as today is, we remain focused on and excited about getting back to producing high-quality games for our passionate fans and developed by our world class studios and getting our Games business back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.
Why is this Happening?
There are multiple reasons why this situation is sadly happening.
Recent Failures
This contrasts with recent efforts throughout this generation, with lackluster releases being a common theme from the publisher.
Save for successes like LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and Hogwarts Legacy, many of WB’s biggest games were lacking.
WB Montreal’s Gotham Knightswas released in a lackluster state. The game had performance woes and poor writing compared to the studio’s last Batman title, Arkham Origins.
The Rocksteady Games-developed Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League also didn’t meet the publisher’s expectations. The game underperformed, and the extensive multi-season plans for the title were quickly abandoned going into 2025. The game is properly sunsetted with recent updates, being fully playable offline with its story concluded.
Development Woes Under WB Games
Another problem the publisher has quietly been dealing with is their developmental pipeline having issues. A recent report surrounding the now-canceled Wonder Woman suggested that the title restarted production. Monolith removed the Nemesis system and converted the game into a traditional action/adventure title.
Alongside Monolith’s woes, developer WB Montreal has been trying to get a project greenlit following Gotham Knights.
They pitched multiple DC-related concepts. They include Flash and John Constantine games, both projects that sound like amazing ideas. In addition, they were also interested in making a ‘1.5’ of Gotham Knights addressing the game’s issues, but that was rejected.
Major successes like Multiverses reportedly had development issues as well. Leaders who worked on the project made decisions to appease higher-ups at WB rather than do what the overall development team and the community wanted from the project.
With all these studio closures, one must ask about WB Games’ future as a publisher.
Future for WB Games
Based on recent reports, WB Games still intends to stay in the gaming industry. Despite these studio closures, they still own major Western developers. Rocksteady Games, NetherRealm Games, WB Montreal, Avalanche Software, and TT Games are still under the WB umbrella.
Rocksteady Games
The Batman Arkham developers finished off Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League with an ending bringing back the Arkham-verse heroes. This includes the Caped Crusader, opening the door for a new installment in the Batman Arkham series.
According to recent reports, one is in production within Rocksteady Games, though considering they just finished wrapping up their latest effort, we likely won’t see any updates on this project for a while.
Avalanche Software
As makers of the successful Hogwarts Legacy, we know the studio is working on a sequel. Reports also indicate they are collaborating with Rocksteady Games on a Definitive Edition of Hogwarts Legacy, potentially seeing this release this holiday or in early 2026.
TT Games
Known for their work on the LEGO titles, they are not the only makers of LEGO video games anymore, with publishers like 2K Games and PlayStation making brick-building adventures. Considering the amount of Star Wars content released since LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, another LEGO Star Wars game could happen.
Reports indicate they could be working on a Harry Potter game. It has been a while since LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, implying we could see a reveal as early as this year.
NetherRealm Games
The creators of the Mortal Kombat and Injustice franchises are currently providing post-launch support for Mortal Kombat 1, but they are quietly working on another fighting game.
While it hasn’t been released yet, the original Nvidia leak from a few years ago did list Injustice 3, with the list confirming many games that have been announced and released. Supporting this is the fact that the usual development pipeline for the studio changed.
NetherRealm usually alternates between Mortal Kombat and Injustice releases, but they went from Mortal Kombat 11 to MK 11 Aftermath and Mortal Kombat 1, breaking the mold. In many ways, we are overdue for a new Injustice title.
WB Montreal
Lastly, we have the makers of Batman: Arkham Origins and Gotham Knights. They have tried pitching many projects that haven’t been greenlit. Reports indicate they are currently pitching a Game of Thrones project.
Unlike the other studios, which have various levels of potential success, WB Montreal is at most risk of meeting a similar fate to Monolith or Player First Games.
Conclusion on WB Games Studio Closures
To be blunt, I’m genuinely tired of writing stories like these. It’s one thing having a great game like Hi-Fi Rush launching but not meeting expectations, somewhat ‘justifying’ decisions Bethesda and Microsoft made at the time. I don’t like it, but I comprehend the business reasons for decisions like those.
But seeing talented developers with a history like Monolith Productions and new studios with bright futures ahead of them like Player First Games being snuffed out like this? There is no dancing around it; the Triple-A Game Industry needs a wake-up call.
How many studio closures and layoffs will it take before the major publishers change how they tackle game development and budgeting?
“}]] WB Games took drastic action to combat losses on recent failures, shuttering three studios and canceling their upcoming Wonder Woman project. Read More