Warner Bros. Games is making big changes, shutting down three game studios and canceling several projects, including the much-awaited Wonder Woman game. The company is closing Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego as part of a new business strategy.
Monolith, best known for the hit Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor series, had been working on the Wonder Woman game since it was announced in 2021. Player First Games was behind the fighting game MultiVersus, which was recently shut down despite earlier releases. WB Games San Diego had been developing what they called “an exciting new AAA, free-to-play, cross-platform game.”
Strategic Refocus on Core Franchises
JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery, shared the news with employees in an internal email. He called 2024 a “disappointing” year for the gaming division and explained that the company will now focus on four major franchises: “Harry Potter/Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, DC (mainly Batman games), and Game of Thrones.”
Perrette said the Wonder Woman game didn’t fit into the company’s “strategic priorities” anymore. Warner Bros. also mentioned they are trying to “repurpose talent where possible” by offering affected employees other roles within the company.
Perrette said the company is now focusing on “fewer but bigger franchises” while also trying to grow its mobile gaming business. He admitted that many recent games haven’t met expectations, saying, “the product-market fit and quality of too many of our new releases has really missed the mark.”
Rebuilding After Recent Failures
Warner Bros.’ gaming division has faced a tough time with several games not performing well, including Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the relaunched MultiVersus, and Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions. These struggles came after David Haddad, who led the division for over ten years, left the company in January.
Perrette told employees that Warner Bros. is committed to improving its games, saying, “We need to and will do better for our fans first and foremost.” He stressed that rebuilding trust is key to getting more investment in the future, adding, “Regaining credibility is critical to securing even more investment in Games in the years to come.” He explained that the company will recover “one high quality game release at a time” and rebuild its financial stability “one fiscal quarter at a time.”
When Polygon contacted Warner Bros. Games for comment, a spokesperson provided this statement: “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.”
The statement continued: “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.”
The company concluded by acknowledging Monolith’s “storied history of delivering epic fan experiences” while expressing determination to return to “producing high-quality games for our passionate fans” and getting the Games business “back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.”
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