First announced back in 2021, official updates on Warner Bros. Games and Monolith Productions' (Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel Middle-earth: Shadow of War) open world Wonder Woman game have been few and far between, and we recently found out why.
Following on from last month's report that the game was heavily rebooted during production and has already cost the studio over $100 million, it's now been confirmed that the title has been officially cancelled.
Here is the full statement from WB Games (via Kotaku).
"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. After careful consideration, we are closing three of our development studios – Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. 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. 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.
Warner Bros. Discovery took $300 million in losses on gaming last year due to a $200 million writedown on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and $100 million writedown on Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions and the fighting game MultiVersus.
We still know very little about the plot the Wonder Woman game was going to follow, but the single-player title was developed as an open-world action-adventure with an original story set in the DC Universe that would have "allowed players to become Diana and fight to unite her Amazon family and the human race."
Last year, a rumor did the rounds that the Wonder Woman game would be released under the games as a service (GaaS) model, which Warner Bros. Discovery quickly denied.
"Wonder Woman is a single-player action-adventure game set in a dynamic open world," the studio said in a statement. "This third-person experience will allow players to become Diana of Themyscira and introduce an original story set in the DC Universe while also featuring the Nemesis System. Wonder Woman is not being designed as a live service game."
Check out the previously-released announcement teaser below.
"She will fight to unite the warriors of two worlds.
You are Wonder Woman. In development by Monolith Productions, creators of the critically acclaimed Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and sequel Middle-earth: Shadow of War, this open-world action-adventure game will feature the beloved DC Super Hero, Wonder Woman.
The single player open-world action game will introduce an original story set in the DC Universe and allow players to become Diana of Themyscira in the fight to unite her Amazon family and the humans from the modern world. Powered by the Nemesis System, gamers will forge deep connections with both enemies and allies as they progress from a heroic fighter into a proven leader."