New Wonder Woman Game Canceled, Multiple Studios Closed

Warner Bros. Games is making some dramatic changes, as the company is closing Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego. Warner Bros. Games is also cancelling the new Wonder Woman game at Monolith Productions as part of this shakeup.

Warner Bros. Games confirmed this following a breaking news report from Jason Schreier of Bloomberg.

Monolith Productions was founded in 1994 and was more recently known for licensed games like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War. The studio also created the F.E.A.R. and Condemned franchises. Warner Bros. acquired the company in 2004.

Player First, meanwhile, is the developer behind the ill-fated multiplayer game MultiVersus, which is closing this May. Warner Bros. acquired Player First in 2024. MultiVersus was the team's first game.

WB San Diego is more recently established studio that was contributing to "the future of AAA free-to-play games."

In a statement, Warner Bros. Games said it made the "very difficult" decision to restructure its development teams, resulting in these studio closures. Going forward, Warner Bros. Games said it will focus on four major franchises: Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC, and Game of Thrones.

The statement said the decision to close the three studios was a "strategic change" that had nothing to do with the teams or the talented individuals working there.

As for the new Wonder Woman game, Warner Bros. said it wanted to make "the highest quality" game, but "unfortunately this is no longer possible within our strategic priorities." Wonder Woman is, of course, a DC property, but it seemingly is not a fit within the company's new strategy.

"This is another tough decision, as we recognize Monolith's storied history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games," the company said.

WBD gaming boss JB Perrette announced these decisions in a memo to staff today obtained by Polygon. He said some staff who were not laid off will be reassigned to other internal roles where possible. He also said Warner Bros. will look to do more in the mobile games space and aims to "regain our credibility and swagger at producing great games." Perrette also reflected on some of the company's recent misses in gaming, saying the "product-market fit and quality of too many of our new releases has really missed the mark."

He added: "We need to and will do better for our fans first and foremost, and also because regaining that credibility is critical to us securing even more investment in games in the years to come."

A recent report said the new Wonder Woman game had already cost Warner Bros. more than $100 million and was nowhere close to being ready for release. This follows a trend at Warner Bros. Games, as recent projects have failed to take off. Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was a $200 million flop for the company, Warner Bros. Montreal's Gotham Knights saw lukewarm sales when it launched, and MultiVersus, as mentioned, will shut down in May. Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus were live-service games. Kill the Justice League developer Rocksteady is not historically known for making those types of games.

Warner Bros. Games' longtime boss, David Haddad, announced in January that he's leaving the company but will stay on for the next three months to help oversee the transition to a new leader. No such executive has been named yet for Haddad's replacement.

Looking ahead, Warner Bros. games is focusing on the four core franchises mentioned above. A Hogwarts Legacy sequel is coming, Warner Bros. Montreal is said to be pitching a new Game of Thrones title, and Rocksteady may be plotting a new single-player Batman game. As for DC, studio boss James Gunn recently said some "really interesting" projects are coming in the gaming space, but not soon.