It has been a tough stretch for the video game industry, and the news seems to be getting worse all the time. After many cuts, layoffs, and studio closures that were announced this year and last, Warner Bros. Discovery is now putting its hat in the ring as well. The company revealed it would be shutting down three of its gaming studios and revealed that its Wonder Woman video game, announced back in 2021, is officially canceled. Among the three video game studios that Warner Bros. is closing down is developer Monolith Productions, which has been active for 31 years. Among other games, Monolith is known for having developed Middle-earth: Shadow of War. The studio behind MultiVersus has also been shuttered in this closure.
At some point, Warner Bros. Discovery intended to make its video games in-house, but this latest restructuring points to a different path.
Alongside the cancellation of its Wonder Woman game, Warner Bros. Discovery has closed down Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. Monolith was developing the Wonder Woman game before Warner Bros. Discovery canceled it. Meanwhile, Player First Games was the team behind the MultiVersus game, which unfortunately did not perform to expectations. Warner Bros. Games San Diego was reportedly working on “an exciting new AAA, free-to-play, cross-platform game.”
In a statement about the closure of its games studios and overall restructuring efforts, Warner Bros. Discovery noted:
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.
While strategy and admiration are great, seeing more and more video game studios closing their doors feels like a loss, especially when one has existed for over three decades. In an email from JB Perrette, which we saw via Polygon, the CEO and president of global streaming and games for Warner Bros. Discovery, Perrette states that Warner Bros. Games had a “disappointing 2024,” and adds, “We need to and will do better for our fans first and foremost, and also because regaining that credibility is critical to us securing even more investment in Games in the years to come. Getting our swagger back happens one high quality game release at a time, and our financial credibility gets rebuilt one fiscal quarter at a time — delivering what we said we would deliver, and no big negative surprises.”
Perrette does note Warner Bros. Discovery will “repurpose our talent where possible” and we hope that’s true.
All of this comes after David Haddad, who led the Warner Bros. Games division for 12 years, exited his role in January. Various reports point to the failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to truly perform and the lackluster reception of the MultiVersus relaunch as key components of this restructuring. Hopefully, the refocusing of Warner Bros. Games will, in time, help create new opportunities for those in the video games world.