Following the underperformance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Rocksteady Studios has experienced further layoffs. The game's disappointing sales initially resulted in a 50% reduction of the QA team in September. Recent layoffs have now impacted Rocksteady's programming and art departments, occurring shortly before the game's final content update.
Rocksteady, renowned for the Batman: Arkham series, faced challenges in 2024 with the release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The game received a mixed critical response and its post-launch DLC further fueled controversy. Consequently, Rocksteady announced the cessation of new content after a final January update.
The game proved financially costly for both Rocksteady and its parent company, WB Games. Warner Bros. reported in February that sales fell short of expectations. This led to the substantial QA department layoffs mentioned earlier, reducing staff from 33 to 15.
However, this was not the end of the job cuts. Eurogamer recently reported additional layoffs affecting remaining QA personnel, as well as programmers and artists. Several anonymous employees confirmed their dismissals, citing concerns about their future job prospects. Warner Bros. remains silent on these recent layoffs, mirroring their response to the September cuts.
Further Layoffs Ripple Through WB Games
Rocksteady isn't alone in experiencing the fallout from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's poor performance. WB Games Montreal, the studio behind Batman: Arkham Origins and Gotham Knights, also announced layoffs in December, primarily affecting QA staff who supported Rocksteady's post-launch DLC development.
The final DLC, released December 10th, introduced Deathstroke as the fourth playable character. While a final update is planned for later this month, Rocksteady's future plans remain unclear. The game's underperformance casts a shadow on Rocksteady's otherwise impressive track record of successful DC-themed titles, highlighting the significant consequences of the live-service model's failure in this instance.
