Warner Bros. is closing its three video game studios and canceling development of the troubled Wonder Woman game after the company’s gaming unit posted a loss of $300 million (approximately Rs. 2,627 crore) in 2024. The media giant intends to refocus on its “bigger franchises” after a series of underperforming releases and leadership turmoil left a thin pipeline of upcoming games. The shuttered studios include Middle-earth: Shadow of War developer Monolith Productions, MultiVersus developer Player First Games, and support studio Warner Bros. Games San Diego.
Warner Bros. to close 3 studios
The move, first reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday, reflects Warner Bros. Games’ intention to make structural changes to its team and product portfolio as it turns its attention to Warner Bros. franchises such as “Harry Potter,” “Batman,” “Mortal Kombat” and “Game of Thrones.”
“The quality of too many of our new releases is truly not up to par,” Warner Bros. said. Gaming and streaming boss JB Perrette said in an internal memo to employees seen by Bloomberg. “If we are to commit the necessary resources to return to the ‘fewer but bigger franchises’ strategy, we need to make some substantial changes to our portfolio/team structure.”
After the news broke, Warner Bros. confirmed in a statement to Kotaku that the studio was shutting down and canceling the Wonder Woman game, and that its decision did not reflect the situation of the affected team and its employees.
“We had to make some very difficult decisions to build our development studios and investments around our key franchises – Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones -” Warner Bros. Games said in a statement. “After careful consideration, we will be closing three development studios – Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. This is a strategic shift in direction and not a reflection of these teams or the talent within them.”
“Development of Monolith’s Wonder Woman video game will not continue. Our hope was to provide players and fans with the highest quality experience with this iconic character, but unfortunately, this is no longer possible within the scope of our strategic priorities. This is another difficult decision as we recognize that Monolith A storied history of delivering epic experiences through great games. We greatly admire the passion of all three teams and are grateful for every employee’s contribution. Despite today’s difficulties, we remain focused on making high-quality games for our passionate fans and are excited to return our games business to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.”
Wonder Woman canceled
As detailed in a separate Bloomberg report earlier this month, Warner Bros. has been struggling to get the Wonder Woman game off the ground after spending several years in development. The company has invested over $100 million (roughly Rs. 875 crore) in Monolith ahead of the game’s 2024 relaunch. Monolith, a subsidiary of WB Games, has previously developed critically acclaimed video games such as Fear, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Player First Games developed the free-to-play fighting game MultiVersus, which, despite its initial success, ended up costing Warner Bros. Games $100 million in 2024. WB Games announced the end of development on MultiVersus last month, confirming that season five will be the game’s last. The cross-border fighting game will be offline on May 30.
Warner Bros.’ losses surged in 2024, largely due to the failure of Rocksteady Studios’ triple-A film “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.” The live-service game failed to attract players and stopped content updates last month, one year after launching on January 30, 2024. Rocksteady is now said to be targeting a Batman game as its next project, a return to the single-player story-driven games that put the studio on the map.
Warner Bros., meanwhile, has a tight game release schedule, with canceled projects, failed games on its live-streaming service and an inability to maintain steady revenue, with big projects like a “Hogwarts Legacy” sequel and DC-based games still years away from release. DC Studios boss James Gunn said at a recent event that a DC Universe video game is still at least a few years away.