Warner Bros cancels Wonder Woman video game ; shuts down Monolith Productions and two other game studios

Warner Bros. Discovery is canceling it's planned Wonder Woman game, which had been in development for more than three years, and shutting down three studios - Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego, in a move to increase profitability, as per Bloomberg reporter, Jason Schreier.

WB confirmed the shutdowns to Kotaku in a statement saying.

"After careful consideration, we are closing three of our development studios - Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego."

The statement also noted,

"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."

Warner Bros had originally announced the game in December 2021, and described it as,

"The single player open-world action game will introduce an original story set in DC Universe and allow players to become Diana of Themyscira in the flight to unite her Amazon family and the humans from the modern world."

The update comes after Warner Bros, while speaking to Variety in January, confirmed that David Haddad, head of Warner Bros. Games, was exiting his role. Haddad has led the games division for 12 years.

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"This is another tough decision" - says Warner Bros. about shutting down Wonder Woman

Noting the cancelation of Wonder Woman along with three other studios in their recent statement, Warner Bros mentions that they remain "focused and excited" about getting back to producing high-quality games.

"This is another tough decision, as we recognize Monolith's shared history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games."

The cancellation comes after Bloomberg, in a report earlier this year, suggested that the game was in trouble following a reboot and director change costing over $100 million. The company has been going through difficult times, with layoffs at Rocksteady and lackluster performance by Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, compared to the success of their 2023 Harry Potter game, Hogwarts Legacy.

The Bloomberg report also noted that WB's gaming division suffered $300 million in losses last year. It has been a bad couple of years for the video game industry, with over 9000 people being laid off in 2023, as per The Verge. Kotaku, in February 2024, reported that 8,800 people were laid off in 89 days in early 2024.

Warner Bros. continues to focus on continuing their key franchises, Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC, and Game of Thrones.