Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Reportedly Lost WB $200 Million

You probably already know that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a flop, but a new report has revealed that its failure cost Warner Bros a shocking $200 million – and that’s not all.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was supposed to be Rocksteady’s next big smash, a game to prove there was life beyond the Batman: Arkham games. Instead, it failed spectacularly, and at the time of writing, there were less than 250 people playing it on Steam. That’s a game that requires an online connection, in case you’d wiped that frustrating requirement from your memory.

Now, a report over at Bloomberg has revealed the behind-the-scenes drama. For starters, its failure was such a blow that Warner Bros. Discovery Inc’s video game head, David Haddad, flew in to see how the situation could be salvaged.

At least, that’s according to the current and former Rocksteady employees who spoke to journalist Jason Schreier. Schreier, who is known for in-depth pieces like this, interviewed nearly two dozen people who chose anonymity because they weren’t allowed to speak to the press. The article, which is an enthralling and horrifying read, is packed with behind-the-scenes tidbits. Here are just a few:

• New staff joined the project with no idea it was multiplayer
• The studio’s co-founders were working on a multiplayer puzzle game, which they ditched in favor of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
• Rocksteady grew so much it became unwieldy and difficulty to manage

Related: Kill the Justice League Fans Are Furious Over the Game’s Handling of Joker

Granted, these are, again, from anonymous sources, but given the game’s troubled history, I can believe it. The report also states that some of Rocksteady’s staff are working on a director’s cut of Hogwarts Legacy. You could take that to mean that the developer is safe or, alternatively, that Rocksteady is in danger of being relegated to a support studio.

There’s still no release date for Suicide Squad‘s single-player mode, and while Rocksteady has released the game’s first season of content, it seems doubtful fans will get to defeat all thirteen Brainaics.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is now available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.