A significant setback has recently affected the industry: Warner Bros Games has reportedly decided to cancel the Wonder Woman game after five years of development and an investment of $100 million. As a result, the studio responsible for the project, the acclaimed Monolith Productions, along with two other studios—Player First Games (Multiversus) and WB San Diego—are being shut down. This news was initially reported by Jason Schreier for Bloomberg and later confirmed by Warner Bros Games through an official press release to Kotaku. Therefore, there is no need for speculative language or cautious phrasing as the information is verified.
Jason Schreier’s investigation indicates that these closures are part of a strategy to concentrate on major licenses such as Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC Comics, with Batman being a key focus. In an internal email obtained by Jason Schreier, JB Perrette, Warner Bros’ head of games and streaming, stated that “too many recent releases have really missed their mark.” He further noted, “We need to make substantial changes to our portfolio/team structure if we want to allocate the necessary resources to return to a strategy of fewer but bigger franchises.” In response to this announcement, which was poorly received by the gaming community, Warner Bros issued the following statement to Kotaku:
We had to make some challenging decisions to align our development studios and investments with creating top-tier games based on our key franchises: Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC, and Game of Thrones. Following thorough evaluation, we are closing three of our development studios: Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. This is a strategic realignment and does not reflect negatively on these teams or their talent.
The development of Monolith’s video game “Wonder Woman” will not proceed. Our goal was to offer players and fans the best possible experience for this iconic character, but unfortunately, this is no longer feasible within our strategic priorities. This is another difficult decision, as we acknowledge Monolith’s legendary history in creating epic experiences for fans through incredible games. We greatly admire the passion of the three teams and thank every employee for their contribution.
Despite the challenges we face, we remain committed and enthusiastic about resuming the production of high-quality games for our passionate fans, developed by our world-class studios. Our goal is to bring our gaming business back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.
It is difficult for some players to witness such a talented studio as Monolith Productions, celebrating its 30th anniversary, being suddenly shut down overnight. The studio, despite the closure, has provided us with notable titles like the Shadow of Mordor license and its groundbreaking Nemesis system, patented by Warner Bros Games, the FEAR license, the Condemned horror games, and No One Lives Forever. There is a sense of wastefulness in these decisions, demonstrating that Warner Bros, whether in its cinema/series or video game division, can discard projects with over 5 years of production, as seen with the Batgirl series, which was completed before being outright canceled.
The closure of Player First Games studio follows the cancellation of their first game, Multiversus, which failed to recover after a year-long hiatus and just a few months after Warner Bros. Games acquired the studio in July 2024. Established in 2019, WB San Diego primarily focused on mobile and free-to-play games, and its closure means that none of their games will be released. These additional developments come weeks after the announcement of David Haddad’s departure from Warner Bros. Interactive after 12 years with the company.
