Warner Bros. is closing three game studios and canceling Wonder Woman
Monolith Productions, Player First Games and WB San Diego are being shut down
Warner Bros. Games is closing three internal development studios and canceling its Wonder Woman game.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War studio Monolith Productions is shutting down, with its in development Wonder Woman game being axed, according to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier.
His sources have also claimed that Warner is closing MultiVersus studio Player First Games, and mobile-focused studio WB San Diego.
Update
Warner Bros. has confirmed the reported closures in a statement issued to Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach.
“We have had to make some very difficult decisions to structure our development studios and investments around building the best games possible with our key franchises – Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones,” it said.
“After careful consideration, we are closing three of our development studios – Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. This is a strategic change in direction and not a reflection of these teams or the talent that consists within them.
“The development of Monolith’s Wonder Woman videogame will not move forward. Our hope was to give players and fans the highest quality experience possible for the iconic character, and unfortunately this is no longer possible within bur strategic priorities. This is another tough decision, as we recognize Monolith’s storied history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games.
“We greatly admire the passion of the three teams and thank every employee for their contributions. As difficult as today is, we remain focused on and excited about getting back to producing high-quality games for our passionate fans and developed by our world class studios and getting our Games business back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.”
In late January, Warner announced that Season 5 of MultiVersus would be its last, with the game shutting down on May 30.
And Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Monolith’s Wonder Woman game, which was announced in 2021, was years away from release after being rebooted in 2024.
Warner Bros. Interactive’s president David Haddad is to leave his position after 12 years at the division, the company confirmed in January.
The announcement followed a challenging year for Warner’s games division, which included the commercial failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and the disappointing relaunch of Multiversus.
This led to Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav highlighting the games division as a weak link for the company in its earnings results last November, when he said it was “substantially underperforming its potential”.
Warner is planning a follow-up to 2023 blockbuster Hogwarts Legacy as a priority. The Harry Potter spin-off was that year’s best-selling game ahead of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and it has since surpassed 30 million sales.
