Warner Bros. shuts down three studios and cancels Wonder Woman game
Summary
Warner Bros. Games closes Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego
The Wonder Woman game in development at Monolith is cancelled
Move follows mounting losses, MultiVersus failure, and a pivot to "fewer but bigger franchises"
"We need to make some substantial changes to our portfolio/team structure if we are to commit the necessary resources to get back to a 'fewer but bigger franchises' strategy."
01
Three studios closed as WB restructures its games business
Monolith Productions (201-500 staff), WB Games San Diego (51-200 staff), and Player First Games (11-50 staff) are all being shut down
Total headcount impacted is estimated between 263 and 750 developers across the three studios
David Haddad, president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, stepped down last month after 12 years leading the division
In December 2024, nearly 100 developers were already laid off from WB Games Montreal
02
MultiVersus failure and poor release quality triggered the pivot
Warner Bros. Discovery took "another $100+ million impairment" tied to the underperforming MultiVersus free-to-play fighting game
MultiVersus will be delisted and all online functionality disabled in May 2025
"The quality of too many of our new releases has really missed the mark."
03
Wonder Woman game cancelled alongside studio closures
Monolith's in-development Wonder Woman title will not move forward
WB cited inability to deliver the project within its revised strategic priorities
"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."
04
WB refocuses on four core IP franchises
Future development will concentrate exclusively on Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC, and Game of Thrones
The strategy is explicitly described as "fewer but bigger franchises"
"We are closing three of our development studios... This is a strategic change in direction and not a reflection of these teams or the talent that consists within them."
05
Road ahead - profitability and quality as the north star
WB Games has publicly committed to returning the games business to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond
Remaining studios will be structured around the four key franchises to concentrate resources and raise release quality
Further portfolio and team structure changes are expected as the division continues to realign
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