Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League hasn’t performed anywhere near Warner Brothers’ expectations, and this is already having huge ramifications. Rocksteady Studios’ looter shooter needs a second wind with the upcoming arrival of Season 1, but Warner Brother appears to be phasing it out of its future plans. Now, the movie and gaming conglomerate is looking to shift its focus to free-to-play games and live service titles (you know, like Kill the Justice League.)
During a recent Morgan Stanley webcast, Warner Brothers Discovery’s president of streaming and games J.B. Perrette reflects on the underperformance of Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League. Following up from Warner Brothers’ previous comparison to RPG game juggernaut Hogwarts Legacy, Perette says “unfortunately, we also have disappointments, we just released Suicide Squad this quarter, which was not as strong. It just makes it [the situation] very volatile.”
Going forward, Perrette says Warner Brothers will be “doubling down on games as an area where we think there is a lot more growth opportunity that we can tap into with the IP that we have and some of the capabilities on the studio side.” Describing Warner Brothers as “uniquely positioned as both a publisher and a developer of games”, this fresh strategy will involve moving away from triple-A single-player games.
While a sequel to Hogwarts Legacy seems like a no-brainer in our eyes, at least from a financial perspective, Warner Brothers will bolster its free-to-play efforts: “How do we develop a game around, for example, Hogwarts Legacy or Harry Potter, that is a live service where people can […] play in that world on an ongoing basis?”
It seems like an odd move when its most recent live service title, Suicide Squad, is on a downward spiral. But it doesn’t have to be that way, either. Consistent datamining of the game proves there are promising plans for the future, with major story events relating to the potential resurrection of the Justice League itself. Not to mention new characters like Batman villain Deathstroke, or a multiverse version of Mr. Freeze. Keeping the game’s roadmap a secret might not be doing it any favors, too.
While exact sales figures from Kill the Justice League are yet to be released, the game’s struggle to retain players across PS5 and Xbox continues to be a pain point. Season 1 of Kill the Justice League, which introduces new playable villains like the Joker and expanded mission variety, won’t be arriving in the divisive multiplayer game until March 28, 2024.
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