Rocksteady reportedly laying off developers after Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League flop
Rocksteady Studios reportedly faced layoffs following the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League‘s low sales figures.
That is according to Eurogamerwho first reported that the studio’s quality assurance (QA) department had been halved over the past month, reducing the team’s size from 33 to 15.
The reason behind the layoffs is being cited as “restructuring,” with other jobs outside of the QA department also being cut, including several junior employees and people who have been with the studio for more than five years.
Employees who wished to remain anonymous also told the publication that the job losses — including among developers with “specialized knowledge” — are also impacting Rocksteady’s staff at large, as employees are now required to do their own work in addition to their own.
According to the same sources, Rocksteady’s senior management has indicated that product quality will suffer as a result of the layoffs.
Last month, Warner Bros. announced that its Gaming revenues fell 41% year-on-year due to the poor performance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewhich cost $200 million to produce.
Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said in an earnings call that the DC supervillain shooter “did not meet our expectations.”
Although Suicide Squad While the game underperformed, Rocksteady is still working on the game’s season pass, which will offer additional content after its release in early February.
The first of these updates came in March with Season One, which introduced The Joker as a playable character, followed by Season Two in July, which introduced Mrs. Freeze to the roster, a new map, and two episodes titled Frozen Hearts and Winter. The studio also has plans for seasons three and four.