Suicide Squad: Layoffs Impact Development

Rocksteady Studios, renowned for the acclaimed Batman: Arkham series, has experienced further layoffs following the disappointing performance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The game's underperformance, initially impacting the QA team with a 50% reduction in September, has now resulted in additional job cuts across programming and art departments. This latest round of layoffs precedes the game's final content update.

The financial repercussions of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's underperformance were significant for both Rocksteady and its parent company, WB Games. Warner Bros. publicly acknowledged the game's failure to meet sales expectations in February. The subsequent layoffs, initially targeting the QA department, were a direct consequence of this underachievement.

Eurogamer recently reported on the additional job losses at the end of 2024, affecting remaining QA staff, programmers, and artists. Several affected employees, speaking anonymously, confirmed these recent dismissals. Warner Bros. remains silent on these and the previous September layoffs.

Ripple Effect Across WB Games

The impact of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's poor reception extends beyond Rocksteady. WB Games Montreal, the studio behind Gotham Knights and Batman: Arkham Origins, also announced layoffs in December, primarily affecting quality assurance personnel who supported Suicide Squad's post-launch content.

The final DLC, released December 10th, introduced Deathstroke as a playable character. While a final update is planned for later this month, the future of Rocksteady remains uncertain following this project's considerable setbacks. The game's underperformance casts a shadow over Rocksteady's impressive history of successful DC-themed titles, highlighting the significant cost of the live-service model's failure in this instance.