Warner Bros. Discovery Announces Major Shake-Up, Shuttering Three Studios in their Gaming Division Games San Diego. The reorganization has also resulted in the cancellation of Monolith Productions’ widely anticipated Wonder Woman game.
Monolith Productions, the studio behind Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, has been developing the Wonder Woman game since it was announced in 2021. The project had fans excited as it hoped to deliver an immersive experience focusing on the iconic DC superheroine. But it had multiple problems, with the report suggesting its game had to start over as of 2024 with rising costs crossing $100 million.
MultiVersus developer Player First Games and publisher Warner Bros. The other studio is Games San Diego, which was developing a new AAA game. These closures are part of a Warner Bros. Discovery’s strategic pivot to prioritize its most lucrative gaming franchises — Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones and Batman.
Warner Bros. Games said in a statement that the decision came due to the need to realign business priorities and was not a reflection of the talent of the affected teams. The publisher stressed that it remained focused on providing quality gaming experiences and returning to profitability in the years to come.
Upheavals in the gaming industry, reflected in rocketing development costs and production lines that stretch ever longer to produce fewer and fewer blockbuster hits, is matched on the consumer side with softening appetite for purchases amid economic uncertainty. Warner Bros. Discovery has had to make difficult choices about sustainability and profitability notwithstanding hits such as Hogwarts Legacy.
Wonder Woman cancellation will surely disappoint series-lovers as the open-world AAA single-player action-adventure title would have marked one of the character’s first-ever single-player forays into the gaming space. It was also set to include Monolith’s acclaimed Nemesis system that enabled players to convert enemies into allies. That said, this setback might mean that we should expect to wait even longer for another DC superhero game that isn’t Batman.
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