Warner Bros. is shutting down three of its video-game studios and cancelling development on the troubled Wonder Woman title after the company's gaming division bled $300 million (roughly Rs. 2,627 crore) in losses in 2024. The media giant intends to refocus on its “bigger franchises” after a string of underperforming releases and leadership turmoil that has left a thin slate of upcoming games. The shuttered studios include Middle-Earth: Shadow of War developer Monolith Productions, MultiVersus maker Player First Games, and support studio Warner Bros. Games San Diego.
The move, first reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday, reflects Warner Bros. Games' intention to make structural changes to its teams and portfolio as it turns its attention to marquee WB franchises like Harry Potter, Batman, Mortal Kombat, and Game of Thrones.
“The quality of too many of our new releases has really missed the mark,” Warner Bros.' games and streaming boss JB Perrette said in an internal memo to staff seen by Bloomberg. “We need to make some substantial changes to our portfolio/team structure if we are to commit the necessary resources to get back to a ‘fewer but bigger franchises' strategy.”
In a statement to Kotaku after the news broke, Warner Bros. confirmed the studio closures and the cancellation of the Wonder Woman game, and its decision did not reflect the affected teams and their staff.
“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,” Warner Bros. Games said in the statement.
“The development of Monolith's Wonder Woman videogame will not move
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