WB Games has had a bit of a rough time recently. That’s as per a finance report that unveiled a cliff-sharp drop in gaming revenue in the first quarter of 2025. While the report doesn’t have its own segment purely for gaming, it does go into the numbers pulled in by videogames in its highlights summary.
The report states that “Games revenue decreased 48% [excluding foreign currencies] due to the prior year release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League compared to no releases in the current year quarter, as well as higher carryover from Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat 1 in the prior year.”
Which all checks out. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League actually lost Warner Bros $200 million, and that was back in June 2024. It’s hard to get an exact timeline, but given the game wrapped up its final proper update in January of this year, it’s safe to assume it’s lost a touch more cash.
Now, in fairness to Rocksteady—and the report itself—any successful game will see a drop in revenue the quarter after, for the simple fact that games take a long time to make and hits are rare. Hogwarts Legacy sold gangbusters, with over 22 million copies flooding cash directly into Warner Bros’ pocket. You could make some very decent games after that and still see a drop in revenue.
The real corporate mic-drop happens as WB explains its lower expenses—what it’s spending—on gaming content, which dropped 66% “primarily driven by the prior year quarter impairment related to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and lower games revenue in the current quarter”.
Oof. Having your game name directly called out as being related to a quarter-year impairment feels like the most savage takedown you’d get in a business earnings report.
Especially since that drop in expenses is likely related to a sweep of closures that saw Monolith, Player First Games, and WB San Diego shuttered—alongside a Wonder Woman game. This is all conjecture, sure—but when you say you’re spending 66% less money on games after you closed a bunch of studios, then say that’s because of an impairment “related” to a poorly-performing game? It’s conjecture with meat on the bone, at least.
It’s completely scrubbed-clean, anesthetised, unoffensive language that nonetheless suggests a miserable attitude towards Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s market flop. I feel like I’m a noble in a highly political fantasy drama dropping my glass of wine in shock, because some lord suggested the fair lady’s etiquette was passing strange. The scandal!
It’s been a similarly miserable time to work in the games industry, and I personally pin this failure on the leadership who decided to make this game rather than the developers forced to make it, but it’s no wonder its finale resulted in layoffs and the head of WB games stepping down.
