Warner Bros. Shuts Down Studios After Costly Game Flops | Image Source: kotaku.com
LOS ANGELES, March 7, 2025 – Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) made a radical move in its game division, closing three of its studies in a strategic effort to recover assembly losses. The closure of Monolith Productions, Player First Games and WB Games San Diego marks a significant change in Hollywood’s relationship with the game, as the industry is facing significant financial setbacks. According to Bloomberg, this decision follows the disastrous performance of the “Suicide Squadron: Killing the Justice League”, which apparently cost the company $200 million in seats, as well as other undervalued titles such as “MultiVersus” and “Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions”
Which led to Warner Bros. The biggest game reduction?
The gaming industry faced turbulent times in early 2025, with several publishers forced to make mistakes after financial mistakes. Warner Bros. The games, although they are Hollywood’s most established gaming entity apart from Sony PlayStation, have struggled to maintain their profitability. As Kotaku reported, the WBD game division suffered repeated losses due to bad game and mismanagement versions.
JB Perrette, Warner Bros. The head of Discovery of global streaming and games, recognized the company’s struggles in an internal email shared by Polygon. He mentioned the need to “get more credibility” and admitted that “the adjustment of the product market and the quality of too many of our new versions really missed the brand.” With Warner Bros. Discovery faces broader financial challenges, the company chose to close studies that were no longer aligned with its main game strategy.
Why has monolith production been closed?
Monolith Productions, the study behind the critic called “Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor” and his sequel, “Shadow of War”, had developed a long-awaited game of “Wonder Woman.” However, as GamesRadar has pointed out, the project has been confronted with many times because of the difficulties that have integrated the Nemesis system of the Monolith signature. Originally conceived as an open world slasher, the game was then reviewed in a more linear experience similar to “God of War”. At the time of these changes, Warner Bros. The games had already suffered significant financial losses, which had led to the decision to completely dismantle the project.
In addition to Monolith’s problems, the former president of WB Games David Haddad had previously cancelled the new intellectual property of the study, resulting in a massive exodus of its directors. This allowed Monolith to run to rebuild her team while simultaneously reproducing “Wonder Woman”. With last year’s financial setbacks that weighed heavily on the company, WBD finally decided that continued development was no longer sustainable.
What happened to First Player Games and Games WB San Diego?
First game player, better known for “MultiVersus”, was also a victim of WBD restructuring. The platform hunter was originally released in beta in 2022, generating a buzz by his crossover characters. However, its full release in 2024 could not resume the same enthusiasm, with the interest of the players and the lack of substantial updates of the content. The studio recently announced that season 5 would be its last, further sealing its destination.
WB Games San Diego, who had worked on an AAA without notice, free play, multiplatform, also faced the closure. With the new WBD approach to established franchises, the study project was no longer considered essential for the company’s gaming strategy.
Is Warner Br. changing game development?
While Warner Bros. The games do not completely abandon the development of the game, but focus on their most lucrative franchises. According to IGN, the company will focus on key properties such as “Harry Potter”, “Mortal Kombat”, “Game of Thrones” and “Batman”. WB Games Montréal would have released a new title “Game of Thrones”, while Rocksteady Studios, the developer of the series “Batman: Arkham”, should return to solo projects.
These changes indicate a shift towards intellectual property licensing rather than the development of internal games. This approach reflects Disney’s departure from the gaming industry in 2016, choosing instead of licensing its brands for external studies.
What does that mean for Hollywood’s game ambitions?
Despite WBD’s setbacks, Hollywood remains interested in the game, but with a cautious approach. Netflix, for example, has invested in the cloud and mobile games, linking its launches to film and television properties such as “The Electric State: Kid Cosmo”. However, as Variety reported, Netflix also reduced its ambitions, cancelling a live adaptation of “Horizon Zero Dawn” and apparently reducing its film “BioShock”.
The success of the game adaptations remains a great place for Hollywood, with upcoming versions like “A Minecraft Movie” (4 April), “The Last of Us” Season 2 (13 April), and “Until Dawn” by Sony (25 April) to try the waters again. However, the reluctance of major studies to invest in high-budget game adaptations indicates a growing gap between the two industries.
Ultimately, the restructuring of WBD highlights the volatile nature of the investments in the game. With the completion of studies and the cancellation of projects, the company relies on a more inclined and targeted approach to game development. It remains to be seen whether this strategy will restore its “swagger” to the industry.
