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

Warner Bros. has announced the cancellation of its highly anticipated Wonder Woman game and the closure of three of its development studios: Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego. The news was initially reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier on Bluesky and later detailed in a full Bloomberg report. Warner Bros. confirmed the closures in a statement to Kotaku, explaining the strategic shift behind these decisions.

In the statement, Warner Bros. emphasized the need to restructure its development studios and investments to focus on key franchises such as Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC, and Game of Thrones. The company stated:

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 the Wonder Woman game follows a challenging period for Warner Bros.' gaming division. Earlier in the year, Bloomberg reported that the project was facing difficulties after a reboot and change of directors in early 2024. This came amidst broader struggles, including layoffs at Rocksteady, a lukewarm reception to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and the shutdown of MultiVersus.

Adding to the turmoil, Warner Bros. Games has undergone a significant restructuring, marked by the departure of long-time games head David Haddad and rumors of a potential sale of the division. The closure of these studios is a significant setback for Warner Bros.' efforts to expand its DC universe-connected gaming portfolio. Just yesterday, DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran indicated that it would be "a couple of years" before the first DCU video game is released.

The affected studios have rich histories and contributions to the gaming world. Monolith Productions, established in 1994 and acquired by Warner Bros. in 2004, is renowned for 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, which, despite critical acclaim and a successful launch, did not meet Warner Bros.' expectations. Similarly, WB San Diego, established in 2019, focused on mobile and free-to-play games.

These closures add to a troubling trend in the games industry, with increasing layoffs, project cancellations, and studio closures over the past three years. In 2023, over 10,000 game developers were laid off, a number that rose to over 14,000 in 2024. While 2025 has seen several closures, the exact number of affected individuals remains unclear due to less transparency in reporting these events.