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.
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 Bros has basically taken a look at Suicide Squad and said "we'll get 'em next time!"
Circana analyst Mat Piscatella probably puts it best:
Does this approach surprise you in the least? Try to give us some gobsmacked reactions in the comments section below.
[source gamespot.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 88
I guess WB got money to lose
Geez, WB it's not like you have one of the most bankable pop culture icons (Batman), in an iconic series (Batman Arkham) and instead you decided to spend nearly 10 years making 2 games in Batman's world, in which Batman is barely featured.
Instead of playing the long, steady and stable game they're just playing the "all in" cards and hoping for the best.
Let's see how that works out.
As an insane person I can verify that this response makes sense
Very well... they want to fail in gaming like they do in movies. Let them have their way. 🤷
Ofc, layoffs and closures will ensue and this guy will land on his golden parachute.
Management eh? At least investors will get hit too.
I don’t think I have read anything so insane in a while. I definitely think WB needs to fail way harder than they just have to show them how gamers want to play games. After seeing Hogwarts perform so well and looking back at how good the Rocksteady Arkham games performed should be all they need to know about where to focus resources moving forward..
This is meant to be the Arkham Batman.
This is the last role of the great Kevin Conroy.
What a disgrace.
I see this attitude a lot right now in entertainment. You keep seeing properties dying and being ruined and handled improperly and the reasons are clear. Yet they double down. Never admitting the real problems. So then we end up with horrible games, TV shows, and movies.
Say your goodbyes to wb games while you can. The current management clearly think they can make gains in a market over saturated with half assed gaas titles. 2025, wb games will either shut doors completely or let most of their staff go. If I can see their downfall with this path they've chosen, why can't they???
READ THE EFFING ROOM WB YOU BELLENDS!!!!
I am assuming this guy is not looking at the money angle on Hogwarts vs Squad and is instead looking at someone else's numbers in the successful live service arena and saying they want a slice of that rather than the slice they have with Hogwarts. Greed rather than common sense at play.
@solocapers the scary thing is this comment, as unhinged as it is, is Zaslav at his most sane. The guy has a knack for creating weird narratives to justify whatever he wants to do. Most of the time it loses money, so I’m banking on him being pushed out before too long. Ridiculous.
Personally I blame the youths and their Iphonics and Fortnightly forays, back in my day we had games that would take you a week just to get out the first room or past the tutorial
@MrGilly69 everyone except Zaslav sees it. Compared to other studios, WB game releases have been fewer in number every year and sell fewer copies. Hogwarts Legacy is an anomaly. Mismanagement on a catastrophic scale.
Gotham Knights being genuinely as decent as it is makes this fiasco look way worse. That was an actual single player experience that was somehow marketed to look like a live service and so it died on its feet, whereas Warner Bros are defending the approach taken with Suicide Squad, which consistently looked terrible, marketed terrible and turned out terrible.
Lol idiots, but let them continue to have their profits tank with each release.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 wait you're serious??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
There is no one in a leadership position under the entire WB/Discovery umbrella (save for James Gunn) who seems to have a single braincell.
Tell me you want to downsize your company without telling me you want to downsize your company.
They all look at live service games as winning the lottery but all whilst ignoring the price of a ticket is their rent/mortgage repayments
I guess realistically they only need 1 game to explode in popularity to be set for life. If they can get 1 Genshin or Warzone or Fortnite then that would have them sitting pretty. Seems like they enjoy gambling though.
The old put out ten of the same game and hope one of them is the next Fortnite plan ugh.
On that note, money well saved.
I guess J.B. Perette is the living proof of the concept of "failing upwards"
Can't wait for Draco Malfoy and the Boys Kill the Potter Crew.
It's an epic, live service coop shooter where you play as Draco, Crabbe, or Goyle as they try to take out the evil version of the Harry Potter gang. Pre-order now and get the iconic shotgun, the Dumble-double Barrel! This is the famous weapon Dumbledore used...somewhere! (Not really.)
Please see some reason WB.
No one will stop you guys for making Live Service games...... And
You guys will not Stop these games to wrap up it's servers within months......
The 10 people who like live service games will.be happy I'm sure, and these companies are wondering why they " fall short of projection" and have to let people go.
Is it ignorance ? Or does one of the companies want to be the one to make it massive with a massive rpg live service, cause it ain't gonna happen
Mischief mismanaged.
Forget the industry, forget that this is literally copying Jim Ryan's own playbook that just made him "retire" and his whole company reorganize to excise it. What executive can sit atop two product lines, one a massive success, the other a massive failure, and declare the solution is to move away from the first one and try to make it more like the second one? How do even the greediest investors read that earnings statement and not throw the guy through a glass window on the top floor?
This would be like Nintendo deciding WiiU was the ticket to the future and making a WiiU 2 with a tethered cord between the console and gamepad. A coiled cord.
Building a "world where you can live, work, and play in" Wait - what? Why do I want entertainment service I can "live and work in" and pay to do it?? And who's going to let me work from inside virtual Hogwarts? Is the pay any good? Is it in galleons only to be spent in the WB store? Aren't there laws about this? Or do those laws apply inside imaginary game worlds where we apparently want to live and work now?
I guess what was confirmed here is there's not going to be a Hogwarts 2, it'll be a live service that will crash and burn, try to make us live our lives inside it. And somehow also confirmed it'll be VR?! (seriously, read the original article, he talks about the future in virtual reality.......even as one of the 10 biggest PSVR fans on this site I can easily say......W...T...F...? Did someone cast Obliviate on this guy?)
These corporate scumbags are just idiots. He'll push and push and fail and fail and run IPs into the ground until he's fired and/or the studios are closed/sold. Jim Ryan's be everywhere. Tons of Harry Potter skinned garbage to come much like Pokémon.
Artists and devs who actually game need to revolt and consolidate talent in opposition to cutthroat corporate rule. Less their livelihoods continue to be gambled with chasing mirages in the desert.
Games can be good, and creative, and fun AND profitable without being gambling based addiction schemes, or requiring ridiculous budgets and subsequent returns.
@Czar_Khastik That's probably the funniest comment I've ever read on this site ^^
@Czar_Khastik solid one indeed 👍
9.5/10
The guy is beyond delusional and should be in an Asylum (probably the Arkham one). He's really looking at what Fortnite makes and thinks "hey we can do that too but better!"
Guess they don't care about making money anymore. They're idiots. Soon more people are going to be laid off who don't deserve it.
They must live in some kind of Bizarro world
They are on their way to killing Mortal Kombat too
Lets face it, its not these arrogant suits who lose their livleyhood over these rediculous fantasies...
So ignore why people got hogwarts and pay attention to why people didn’t get suicide squad… and then make the suicide squad model your new focus…
Got it. 💀 ☠️
@aj21009 mk1 is such a soulless rushjob and cashgrab. doesn’t even seem like an mk game
No, I don't question my sanity.
By this point it seems clear that WB r-worded executives also got some seats in the game publishing branch and they will make it flop as hard as the movie branch did.
If I was an investor in this company, I would be losing my freaking mind. "We had a string of profitable Batman games, and a massive Harry Potter game, but let's just go ahead and double-down on the failure." Good lord.
The corporate playbook is closing another company and there’s more layoffs coming for them and Ubisoft. Gutted for the talented employees. Massive cracks in the games industry this year.
Just have to remain positive and look towards AA and indie games now. Helldiver 2 and palworld have shown gaming is not dying and bangers can still be put out on a smaller budget. Dave the Diver and No rest for the wicked look cool. The AAA game may be quickly becoming extinct and closing their studios but AA and indies will rise up from the ashes.
The industry will dramatically change this year. It’s literally happening right now in front of us.
@Vash0125 they actually don't. WB on the whole is bleeding money and looking to merge or be acquired. they were also looking to sell of their gaming divisions for a while now. they are in a very bad place and don't seem to have a clue about anything.
Doesn't surprise me in the least. Warner Bros., its parent and all of its subs have been some of the worst managed companies in the history of entertainment, especially over the past 20 years. They've had WAY more failures than successes, and they've driven some great IPs straight into the ground. They've also been a revolving door for leadership at almost every level and division. I would say their model is broken, but I don't even think they have a clear-cut model or vision at this point.
So... that translating to INSANITY is really no big surprise. They're about as out of touch as can possibly be. I have a good friend who works at DC (he's been their for 20 years and has seen everything). He's been dealing with this garbage for years.
@nomither6 a remaster, literally modern graphics on the same game of the original MK, with the original 7 fighters and original stages. Just new graphics in the modern engine, no online or store etc. But polished and totally faithful to the original. Sell it for $30/£30 and it would sell like hotcakes. Forget the live service and go back to the roots.
Personally I think they’d save a fortune with no online and people would happily pay that. It would sell well at the price point, hook in the nostalgia and with no store or E shop silliness people would be receptive to it.
It would have been much better than the new MK1 and where the series is heading.
I don't know why they dont understand how successful live service works. Make a good game, attract the players, then introduce the live service elements when and if the game is successful. Dlc shops from the start are really going to hurt your chances of being successful in the first place.
@Porco They better get their ***** together because I'd hate to see them get bought out by Disney
I don't care for Suicide Squad or Harry Potter but say that you wanted to take another shot at a live service game. What a better IP to do this than a Harry Potter game, especially with the new series approaching? I guess they will mess it up but it could work
No, it's not surprising. If there's an IP that seems well suited for live service it's definitely something like HP. Built in seasons of school years, houses to sort players into, etc.
Whether they can make that game, and make it well is a major question, but there is clear potential.
When examining Suicide Squad, I think it's hard to judge it. It doesn't seem like a good fit for live service to begin with. Nor was Rocksteady necessarily the right studio.
@Korgon
Canonically Draco has a huge wand and there is a cutscene in the game where everyone mentions how massive it is. Haha funni game!!
Just read this on another site, "Season 2 of House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO/Max in June, said JB Perrette, head of global streaming & games for Warner Bros. Discovery"
I'm no expert, but that sounds like a bit much for one person. Especially one that, on every single attempt, believes Wile E. Coyote will catch the Roadrunner 😔
I don’t see any good coming out of this but if that’s what WB is going for then good luck to em I guess.
"there is a lot more growth opportunity that we can tap into" which means there is easy money out there and consumer pockets of the gullible and misled. Its simple: Do not give them money.
What these companies want is to enslave our attention so they don’t have to compete with the next release from the competition. And it works. People these days seem happy to lock themselves into the same game experience for half their lives. I’m not sure who I blame more.
I have a theory: Warner Bros is managed by the Joker himself.
Yep, as I mentioned before in the 'WB dissapionted by SS sales' news article, this is sadly how reality of business works.
Don’t believe the narrative that live service games lead to single player experiences. Let them crash and burn. They’ve ruined HBO Max already, so let them ruin whatever games they have. If you listen to what shareholders want before what your own customers want, you deserve them to leave you and to fail. It specifically feels like so many juggernauts of industry are looking to fail right now.
Either the guy is mentally unwell or went to this meeting coked out of there mind cuz this ***** don't make sense 😒
Honestly, i enjoy hearing/reading articles where I see how much they loose on those live service *****. Really enjoy it.
As long as they’re ready and able to make that bet without endangering people’s jobs, fine.
Somehow I’m sure Perrette will be fine whatever happens though.
Sure, go ahead. I can skip your next GaaS game just as easily as I have Suicide Squad.
In recent years, it’s became really easy to skip games.
I really enjoy Hogwarts Legacy, but I don’t want a Wizarding World live service game, which is what I’m hearing here.
This is a money decision nothing more. Live service can be monetized in many different ways and that's all they care about so they will keep pushing this until nothing but some form of live service or free-to-play gets made anymore. The bean counters and execs have spoken, single-player will be a relic of the past.
These corporate ***** get paid the big bucks to make the big decisions. But when these decisions don’t perform, it’s the poor doers that get punished for it with their jobs.
The worst thing is these are obviously bad decisions to those of us who play games, but these CEO’s are paid to know more than us.
Your website gave the game a 7/10 so surely you're partially happy with this response?
When I imagine how much it costs to make and maintain GaaS while knowing no one wants it... There is higher chance to get rich by flushing money down the toilet in hope toilet fairy turn it into golden leaves.
This reminds me of the one idiot that we all know, who never has money because instead of sticking with a consistent job they're constantly blowing their money on get rich quick schemes.
It's on a much grander scale, but otherwise basically the same thing.
@KundaliniRising333 @mariomaster96 Thanks for the kudos 😎 If warner bros keep this up, maybe my next comment will get a perfect score of 5/7
This makes me want to cry a little. I was hoping Suicide Squad would be a wakeup call. Not to mention they had Gotham Knights two years ago. Seriously, what's it going to take for them to find some common sense.
I don't want to live, work or build in a game. Idiot.
WB have some very good developers and some very good IP. I really don't think it's unhinged for them to want to roll the dice again. A live service game set within the Wizarding World clearly has enormous potential.
I'd argue they got their game IP the wrong way around. DC should be the single player experience and Harry Potter the live action, but I can understand why they went the way they did. The DC franchise needs the momentum more.
Also, how many amazing games exist today off the back of mass failure beforehand? Or are we suggesting you need to hit the jackpot first time or just give up?!
Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that gambling with terrible odds on a bunch of projects like these is a drop in the ocean for big companies.
What really burns out with every failed live service isn't their money reserves, it's the motivation of every developer unfortunate enough to have spent years of their life assigned to working on soulless garbage.
Warner Bros. will be the next THQ with this clowns vision. 🤡
They're taking the risk. I love risk takers and wish all the best for them
This guy needs to be fired. He is obviously incompetent. He can not read the room at all. Stop investing in huge money making schemes that aren't likely to work and focus on single player story driven games. You forgot who brought you to the prom!
game as a chore.
where you work.
and pay taxes.
live service game fever is the new sickness after suscription services mania.
Could be David Zaslav input?
If yes, no wonder
As much as I really enjoyed Hogwarts Legacy and as much as I detest online live-service games in general, a Harry Potter universe open world online game sounds pretty awesome.
Oh no thanks, I wanted a video game, not a second job.
They will make Hogwarts Legacy 2 a live service game aren't they?
Then they will be shocked and wonder why it absolutely bombs.
Guess they have money to burn.
Why is it always "all in " this or that ??? why can't they invest in both single player and some live service games if they want to try their luck at that ?? he said it himself that both games pose the same kind of risk? then why go all in on live service alone?
It does seem like a mental comment when you consider they had one of the most popular games of the year last year, and it was 100% single player.
Can someone tell me how the heck this suits become game company learder? No wonder the (western AAA) industry state is being like this 😕
How do people like that, end up being in charge of big game studios like WB? People like him are the reason for all the layoffs in the gaming industry!
I mean. I get what they are trying to say.
Hogwarts Legacy with optional seasonal content and Battle Pass system would bring even more money, so it's obvious that they want to chase that.
And I get suicide Squad comparison is tempting, but the fact is that Suicide Squad failed because it was bad game, not because it was live service game.
Good grief Charlie Brown.
No worry they it's probably more lucrative to use it as a tax write off anyway.
@OmegaStriver I agree it keeps lots of money in your pocket every stupid idea is extra money in the bank.
It has to go the way they want, more money like other investors. XD They don't learn just want.
Audiences have spoken, they knew they didn't care, why fight it executives. But they keep doing it and don't understand audiences. We aren't idiots. We make it clear what we want.
If people were already unsure about Gotham Knights why is doubling down on safe games a good idea. They should have noticed, didn't care and they double down on killing themselves going we can try again differently. I mean sure but does that always work.
Trends die, people move on. Move on not drill it in for another 10 years, waste time, and go oh you devs/publishers. Yeah audiences are playing different games, know the landscape and business model.
They don't have the right themes, right universe, right mechanics to make it work. The right angle to go about it to appeal to people.
They can keep trying though.
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