WB Says Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Fell "Short of Our Expectations"
Less than a month after release, Suicide Squad isn't doing so hot.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been out for a few weeks now, and while it might be a bit early to judge the game's performance, it seems things aren't off to a great start. On Warner Bros. Discovery's fourth quarter earnings call, company CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels discussed the gaming side of the business. Wiedenfels noted the strong performance of Hogwarts Legacy, and how that resulted in a positive first quarter for the current fiscal year. By comparison, Suicide Squad sales are off to a slow start, and that could make it very hard for Q1 2024.
"We are lapping the release of Hogwarts Legacy in February last year, which saw the largest portion of its very positive financial impact in the first quarter," said Wiedenfels. "This year, Suicide Squad, one of our key video game releases in 2024, has fallen short of our expectations since its release earlier in the quarter, setting our games business up for a tough year-over-year comp in Q1."
Steam Problems
While the struggles of Suicide Squad are disappointing to see, they aren't all that surprising. The game's concurrent player numbers on Steam have been dismal. According to SteamDB, Kill the Justice League's launch day concurrent player numbers hit a high of 12,667, which is less than half the players Marvel's Avengers attracted on its opening day in 2020. The numbers got a little better for Suicide Squad that weekend, hitting a high of 13,459. Unfortunately, that number has been dropping like a stone since; the game's current high for this weekend is just 968 players.
All of this bodes pretty poorly for Suicide Squad's future, and fans are already fearing the worst. Marvel's Avengers proved to be a huge commercial failure for publisher Square Enix, and likely played a role in the selling of developer Crystal Dynamics. It's impossible to predict what will happen with Rocksteady if Suicide Squad continues on this path, but fans can hardly be blamed for worrying.
Why is Suicide Squad Struggling?
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was developed by a fan favorite studio, it takes place in the beloved Arkham universe, and features one of the last performances of Batman actor Kevin Conroy. All of these factors should have helped generate interest, but the game simply isn't what fans were hoping to see. The previous Arkham games were single-player action/adventure games with strong narratives. Suicide Squad dropped those elements in favor of an online, team-based game with live-service elements. It's a formula that simply didn't work for games like Marvel's Avengers, and it's not surprising it isn't working here either. It's still early, and it's possible things could eventually turn around, but things aren't looking good right now.
How do you feel about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League? Do you think the game is dying a quick death? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
[H/T: Video Games Chronicle]