After concluding the Arkham trilogy with Batman: Arkham Knight, all eyes were on Rocksteady to see what they would do next. For years, rumours persisted that a Superman game might be on the way and, eventually, we'd learn they had actually been developing Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Initially, the prospect of taking control of Task Force X and pitting them against the League excited fans. However, gameplay footage proved divisive, as did the fact these villains would ultimately kill the likes of Batman and Superman.
The game launched this month to tepid reviews and a great many technical difficulties and bugs. Now, Warner Bros. Discovery's Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels has acknowledged that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has fallen far below the company's expectations.
"We are lapping the release of Hogwarts Legacy in February last year, which saw the largest portion of its very positive financial impact in the first quarter," he said during an earnings call on Friday.
"This year, Suicide Squad, one of our key video game releases in 2024, has fallen short of our expectations since its release earlier in the quarter, setting our games business up for a tough year-over-year comp in Q1."
From one of the most anticipated video games in recent memory to a veritable flop, Rocksteady really dropped the ball with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said last November that the company hopes to turn its biggest franchises into live service games, but this one proves that's easier said than done and not something most gamers want.
It's been reported that fewer than half the number of players who signed into Marvel's Avengers on its first day did the same for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League this month, and there are now fears Rocksteady will pull the plug on the free content they've promised players for the next two to three years.
After all, with so few people buying and playing the game, there's little to be achieved from putting time and money into those expansions. Unfortunately, that just makes the way Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's story ends even more unsatisfying.
From Rocksteady Studios, the creators of the Batman Arkham series, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a genre-defying third-person action shooter where the ultimate band of misfits must do the impossible to save the world: Kill the Justice League.
Play as the Suicide Squad, (Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, King Shark), as they set out on an impossible mission to Kill the Justice League.
Drop into an expansive and dynamic open-world Metropolis ravaged by Brainiac’s invasion and terrorized by the heroes who once protected it. Experience gameplay that brings together a unique fusion of enhanced traversal, gunplay, and melee combat, combining free-roaming exploration and combat verticality for an unforgettable experience.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is now available to buy on all major platforms.