Released on February 2, 2024, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been announced as a significant commercial failure. It was previously known that the game had received negative reviews from both critics (60% on Metacritic) and players (3.5/10). Warner Bros Games’ title has reportedly resulted in financial losses for the company. In its first-quarter financial report, Warner Bros. Discovery disclosed a substantial decrease in gaming revenue attributed to the poor performance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Compared to the success of Hogwarts Legacy last year, there is a clear loss of $200 million, leading CEO David Zaslav to describe it as “disappointing.”
During the first quarter, our studios experienced a decline of over 400 million dollars from the previous year, primarily due to the challenging comparison with the success of Hogwart’s Legacy last year and the disappointing release of Suicide Squad this month. This led to a negative impact of 200 million dollars on EBITDA during the first quarter (note: EBITDA represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).
At the launch of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League on February 2, 2024, several red flags emerged with previews receiving unfavorable reviews and player feedback lacking enthusiasm. The release was further complicated by technical issues and negative buzz that harmed its reputation. A notable concern was Warner Bros Games’ decision to assign a service game to Rocksteady, a studio known for creating single-player open-world titles. This situation mirrors the challenges faced by Marvel’s Avengers in 2020 when it was developed by Crystal Dynamics, the studio behind the Tomb Raider series.
There are reports suggesting that Rocksteady is encountering queries about Warner Bros.’ long-term dedication to maintaining Suicide Squad as an active franchise, due to the publisher not providing information on the studio’s upcoming project. Recently, a new Batman Arkham: Shadow was announced (a VR game developed by Camouflaj, known for Iron Man VR), slated for exclusive release on Meta Quest 3 later in 2024.
