Warner Bros. will close three of their video game studios, saying in a statement to Kotaku the “difficult decisions” were in an effort to structure studios and investments around its “key franchises.”
The key franchises cited by the company are Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC Comics and Game of Thrones. The news, first reported by Bloomberg, also included the names of the shuttered studios: Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and Warner Bros. Games San Diego.
Among the decisions was the cancelation of Monolith’s game about the DC Comics character Wonder Woman. Monolith Productions’ games over its more than 30-year history include Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, F.E.A.R and F.E.A.R 2, Blood and Blood II: The Chosen, and more. The company was founded in 1994 and acquired by WB in 2004.
Player First Games developed and released the Warner Bros. fighter MultiVersus, which released into Early Access starting from July 2022 to 2023, and fully launched on May 28, 2024. Warner Bros. recently announced the game would be delisted and online functions would go offline on May 30, just one year later.
Player First was acquired by Warner Bros. last July.
Warner Bros. Games San Diego was working on an unannounced “AAA, free-to-play, cross-platform game.”
“This is a strategic change in direction and not a reflection of these teams or the talent that consists within them,” the statement says.
The decision to cancel the Wonder Woman game, which was first announced in 2021, came down to the company’s “strategic priorities.”
Earlier in February, Bloomberg reported the game was struggling to progress amid an investor call the company “suffered a dismal year” that included “a $200 million writedown in May on a painful flop” on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
“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.”
In the same call, as reported by Bloomberg, Warner Bro’s CEO David Zaslav described its gaming sector as “substantially underperforming its potential.”
Polygon reports that JB Perrette, the CEO and president of global streaming and games for Warner Bros. Discovery, said the company would be turning its attention back to mobile games revenue in the memo sent to staff announcing the business move.
Warner Bros. and Netmarble are launching Game of Thrones Kingsroad on mobile and PC via the Windows Launcher later this year.
