Rocksteady Faces More Layoffs Due to Suicide Squad's Ongoing Impact

As 2024 drew to a close, Rocksteady Studios, the developer behind Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, announced yet another wave of layoffs. Six employees, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed these layoffs. The cuts spanned across the programming team, artists, and testers, marking a continuation of the downsizing that started in September when the number of testers was reduced from 33 to 15.

Throughout 2024, Rocksteady faced significant challenges in sustaining Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League amid its low popularity. Warner Bros. reported that the project incurred losses of approximately $200 million. In December, the developers announced that no new updates would be released for the game in 2025, although the servers would remain operational.

The layoffs were not confined to Rocksteady alone. In December, Warner Bros.'s other studio, Games Montreal, known for Batman: Arkham Origins and Gotham Knights, also saw significant cuts, with 99 employees being let go.

The situation took a darker turn when the game was made available to early access users. Players encountered severe bugs, and the Suicide Squad servers crashed multiple times, preventing access to the game. One of the early access bugs even revealed a storyline spoiler, and the gameplay itself drew numerous complaints.

Prominent gaming magazines expressed their dissatisfaction with the game, leading to a substantial number of early access refunds. According to the analytics firm McLuck, the failed launch of Suicide Squad resulted in a staggering 791% increase in refund requests.

It remains uncertain what Rocksteady Studios will focus on next following these tumultuous events.