Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice launched to mixed reviews earlier in 2024, with critics roundly praising its story and ideas, but lambasting choices around its repetitive missions and its nature as a live service game. Whether inspired by early reviews or by an overall lack of interest, it appears general audiences were equally indifferent about the adventure. Per the latest financial report from Warner Bros. Discovery, Kill the Justice League notably underperformed on sales expectations.
“This year, Suicide Squad, one of our key video game releases in 2024, has fallen short of our expectations since its release earlier in the quarter, setting our games business up for a tough year-over-year comp in Q1,” Gunnar Wiedenfels, CFO of Warner Bros. Discovery said in a recent earnings call (via VGC).
With a strong marketing campaign and multiple years of reveal trailers, showcases, and developer deep dives, it’s clear Warner Bros. Discovery had high expectations for the newly-released title. There were multiple factors going for it: the Suicide Squad brand is well-liked, thanks to James Gunn-led film and TV projects Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad, and live service games remain popular amongst gaming audiences.
Read: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – Review
But equally, there were multiple factors working against it: the live service game market is incredibly crowded and competitive, player loyalty is difficult to earn, and there is now high scrutiny on the nature and implementation of microtransactions (skins, weapons, emotes) in video games.
That’s not to mention that Kill the Justice League released during an ongoing, incredibly tough economic time, where it appears everyday consumers are making stricter choices about how they spend their money.
At this stage, it’s unclear how Warner Bros. Discovery’s assessment will impact future work on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Ahead of launch, developer Rocksteady Studios announced plans for several new seasons of content for the game, with each introducing new villains, missions, and collectibles to keep players coming back for more.
There’s no reason to think plans will change in the immediate future, although given the game has reportedly fallen short of expectations, we could see its future roadmap shift in the coming months. Stay tuned to see what Rocksteady Studios has planned.
