Warner Bros. Axes Wonder Woman Game, Shuts Down Three Studios

Warner Bros. has made the tough decision to cancel its highly anticipated Wonder Woman game and close three of its development studios: Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego. This news was first reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier on Bluesky, with a detailed follow-up on Bloomberg. Warner Bros. later confirmed these closures to Kotaku, stating:

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. 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 our 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.

The decision to cancel Wonder Woman follows a challenging period for the game, which saw a reboot and a change in directors earlier in 2024, as reported by Bloomberg. This cancellation is part of broader struggles within Warner Bros.' gaming division, which have included layoffs at Rocksteady and the underwhelming reception of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, as well as the shutdown of MultiVersus.

Adding to the turmoil, Warner Bros. Games has recently undergone a significant restructuring. Long-time games head David Haddad announced his departure, and there have been rumors that the division might be sold off. This latest move is particularly damaging to Warner Bros.' efforts to build a connected DC universe through gaming. Just yesterday, James Gunn and Peter Safran indicated that it would be "a couple of years" before the first DCU video game is released.

The closure of these studios marks a significant loss for the games industry. Monolith Productions, established in 1994 and acquired by Warner Bros. in 2004, is renowned for creating the Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor series, which introduced the innovative Nemesis system, patented by Warner Bros. in 2021. Player First Games, founded in 2019, developed MultiVersus, a game that, despite critical acclaim and a successful launch, did not meet Warner Bros.' expectations. WB San Diego, also established in 2019, focused on mobile and free-to-play games.

These closures are part of a continuing trend of layoffs, project cancellations, and studio shutdowns in the games industry. In 2023, over 10,000 game developers were laid off, a number that increased to over 14,000 in 2024. While 2025 has seen numerous closures, the exact number of affected individuals remains unclear due to fewer companies reporting specific numbers.