Warner Bros' Reaction to Suicide Squad Flop Will Make You Question Your Sanity | Push Square
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League did not meet publisher Warner Bros' expectations — that much is abundantly clear. The live service shooter appeared to do okay at launch, but concerningly low player counts and an almost immediate, sharp decline in sales set the tone. Warner Bros piped up not long after, stating that Suicide Squad had simply «fallen short» of its projections.
So how is the publisher planning to respond to such a setback? Is it going to place a bigger emphasis on single-player titles like Hogwarts Legacy, which continues to sell extremely well over one whole year after its release?
Don't be absurd. Despite everything, Warner Bros will continue chasing that live service cash — and it'll push for that goal harder than ever before. This is according to gaming division boss J.B. Perrette (as reported by GameSpot), who has outlined plans to focus on live service, mobile, and free-to-play projects going forward. It's exactly what we all wanted to hear.
«We're doubling down on games as an area where we think there is a lot more growth opportunity that we can tap into with the IP that we have,» said Perrette. He goes on to warn of a «volatile» market for big budget titles, and then compares the success of Hogwarts Legacy to the disappointment of Suicide Squad in a way that suggests they present the same kind of risks.
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Sales fell «short of our expectations»
Indeed, the publisher's ambitions are clear: «Rather than just launching a one-and-done console game, how do we develop a game around, for example, a Hogwarts Legacy or Harry Potter, that is a live-service where people can live and work and build and play in that world in an ongoing basis?»
Now, we don't know about you, but from where we're sitting, this comes across as borderline unhinged. Obviously, a successful live service game can make you ridiculous amounts of money — we all know that — but the chances of actually hitting big in the current market are unprecedently small. Warner
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