Summary
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis not the success that Rocksteady and Warner Bros. were likely hoping for. The game, though only released a few months ago, has been widely disregarded as yet another live-service flop—not the most promising start to theWarner Bros. games-as-a-service push.
Like so many AAA games,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguelaunched in a rocky technical state, but this is not generally considered its biggest problem. In the eyes of many players and critics, the game is fundamentally flawed, with some going as far as to say that its nature as a live-service game is enough to write it off. With so many in the gaming community passing onSuicideSquadand not sticking around to see if it gets better, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if Warner Bros. might do the same thing.
Suicide Squadhas received post-launch updates, with the biggest bit of new content being the addition of Joker as a playable character. But these updates have been received with remarkably little fanfare, and while most live-service games are aggressive and transparent when it comes to marketing new content,Suicide Squadis comparatively reserved. Yes, the game has teased the arrival of upcoming content, but the fact that Warner Bros. hasn’t made any official announcements about Season 2 may reveal a lack of confidence in the game’s future.
This lack of confidence would not be unfounded. It’s been reported thatSuicide Squad’sfailure cost Warner Bros. roughly $200 million in revenue, so further investment in the game could be seen as fiscally irresponsible. It would be one thing if the gaming masses were clamoring for moreSuicide Squadcontent, but that is not quite the case. Live-service games have been redeemed before, but withSuicide Squadposting such a shocking financial loss and its relevance dwindling, neither Rocksteady nor Warner Bros. could be blamed for wanting to move on to greener pastures.
All of that is to say that a swift cancelation ofpost-launch support forSuicide Squadis a fair notion that has been in the zeitgeist since the game’s fateful launch. Warner Bros. and Rocksteady are no doubt aware of these whispers, so a firm, unambiguous statement about Season 2 would go a long way toward boosting player confidence, signaling the companies' commitment to the long-term success of the game. This has not happened, though, and this silence has allowed speculation to run rampant.
Given the poor critical and financial performance ofSuicide Squad, it’s going to take much more than a solid second season to turn things around. There have been numerousleaks about futureSuicide Squadseasons, and Rocksteady likely has some future content already chambered, but the muted post-launch marketing suggests that upcoming updates may be scaled back from what was initially planned.
There’s a very good chance thatSuicide Squadwill still get a Season 2 (evenRedfallgot a full year of post-launch support), but this new content could very well be more about recouping losses than turning the game into a must-play product. Time will tell just what will happen toSuicide Squad, but for many, the game is already dead in the water. The conservative approach to Season 2’s marketing isn’t doing much to contradict this belief.
