Game Devs Face Job Cuts as 'Suicide Squad' Studio Shuffles

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 extended to the programming and art departments, occurring shortly before the game's final update.

Rocksteady, renowned for the Batman: Arkham series, faced a challenging 2024. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a Batman: Arkham spin-off, received mixed reviews upon release, with post-launch DLC further fueling controversy. Consequently, Rocksteady halted further content additions after a final January update concluding the game's narrative.

Both Rocksteady and its parent company, WB Games, incurred significant losses from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Warner Bros. reported in February that the game fell short of sales projections. The subsequent layoffs affecting the QA department, reducing its size from 33 to 15 employees, were a direct consequence of the game's poor performance.

However, these September layoffs were not isolated. Eurogamer recently revealed additional staff reductions at the end of 2024, impacting remaining QA personnel, programmers, and artists. Several anonymous employees confirmed their dismissals, citing concerns about their future prospects. Warner Bros. remains silent on these and the previous layoffs.

Rocksteady's Layoffs Continue After Suicide Squad

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

The final DLC, released December 10th, introduced Deathstroke as the fourth playable character. While a final update is scheduled for later this month, Rocksteady's future plans remain unclear. The game's commercial failure casts a shadow on Rocksteady's otherwise impressive track record of critically acclaimed DC video games, highlighting the significant impact of the live-service title's struggles.