After Years in Limbo, Warner Bros. Is Killing Its Wonder Woman Game

There’s further distressing news today from the world of video games, which has seen job cuts and shutdowns as part of a wider wave of tech industry turmoil. As Bloomberg first reported, Warner Bros. Games is shuttering three game studios, as well as pulling the plug on its long-teased Wonder Woman game.

Bloomberg viewed a memo sent to staff, and reports it revealed the closure of Monolith Productions—the team behind the would-be Wonder Woman game, as well as Lord of the Rings titles Shadow of War and Shadow of Mordor—along with Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. The update comes on the heels of an earlier Bloomberg article digging into ongoing problems at the company, which have only been compounded by recent releases under its umbrella that failed to deliver (including Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League).

Of the Wonder Woman game, that same earlier report noted after reboots and director changes, “the game has already cost more than $100 million” and “is still years away from release, if it ever makes it to market.”

Now we know that’s indeed the game’s fate. In a statement to Kotaku, Warner Bros. Games confirmed the news, calling the studio closures reflective of “a strategic change of direction,” and characterizing Wonder Woman‘s cancellation as “a tough decision.”

“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.”

What are your thoughts on these latest developments?

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