Warner Bros close Monolith, creators of F.E.A.R., Condemned, Shadow Of Mordor and Wonder Woman

rockpapershotgun.com:

Warner Bros are closing three video game development studios as they seek "to get back to a 'fewer but bigger franchises' strategy", according to a leaked staff memo from Warner Bros head of games and streaming JB Perrette. The three studios in question are MultiVersus developer Player First Games, free-to-play specialists Warner Bros Games San Diego, and Monolith, the 30-year-old studio behind No One Lives Forever, F.E.A.R., Condemned: Criminal Origins, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and a troubled forthcoming Wonder Woman adaptation that has now been cancelled.

Bloomberg broke the story last night, and Warner Bros have now confirmed the studio closures and Wonder Woman's cancellation in a statement to 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," they say. This "strategic change in direction" is "not a reflection of these teams or the talent that consists within them".

As for Wonder Woman, the company's "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." The release concludes with the rousing note that "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."

The closures continue a terrible couple of years for Warner Bros, who have doubled down on live service adaptations of their many licenses, but struggled to convince players in sufficient droves. The big recent disaster was Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, a handsome but creaky game-as-service extravaganza reportedly imposed on a studio known for rich single player fare, which has