Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Studio Reports More Layoffs

Following the underperformance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Rocksteady Studios has experienced further layoffs. The game's disappointing sales initially resulted in a 50% reduction of the QA team in September. Recent job cuts have now impacted Rocksteady's programming and art departments, occurring just before the release of the game's final update.

Rocksteady, renowned for the Batman: Arkham series, faced challenges in 2024 with the launch of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The game received a mixed critical reception, and its post-launch DLC further fueled controversy. Consequently, Rocksteady announced the cessation of new content after a final January update.

The game proved financially costly for both Rocksteady and its parent company, WB Games. Warner Bros. reported in February that sales fell short of expectations. This led to the significant QA department layoffs mentioned earlier, reducing staff from 33 to 15.

However, this was not the end of the job losses. Eurogamer reported further layoffs at the end of 2024, affecting additional QA personnel, programmers, and artists. Several anonymous employees confirmed their dismissals to Eurogamer, citing concerns about their future prospects. Warner Bros. has remained silent on these recent layoffs, mirroring their response to the September cuts.

More Layoffs Linked to Suicide Squad's Performance

Rocksteady isn't alone in experiencing the fallout from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's poor performance. WB Games Montreal, the studio behind Batman: Arkham Origins and Gotham Knights, also announced layoffs in December, primarily affecting QA staff who supported Rocksteady's post-launch DLC development.

The final DLC, released December 10th, introduced Deathstroke as the fourth playable character. While Rocksteady plans one last update for Suicide Squad later this month, the studio's future remains uncertain. The game's underperformance casts a shadow on Rocksteady's otherwise impressive track record of critically acclaimed DC video games, highlighting the significant consequences of the live-service title's failure.