Rocksteady Faces Massive Layoffs After Poor Sales of Suicide Squad

Rocksteady, the renowned studio, is experiencing significant layoffs, according to a source from Eurogamer. Over the past month, the number of employees in the Quality Assurance (QA) department has been reduced by more than half — from 33 to 15, and there have also been reductions in other departments.

The layoffs are reported to be directly related to the poor sales of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which has been cited as one of the reasons for the so-called “restructuring.” The report also mentions an instance where an employee revealed on social media that they were notified of their dismissal while on paternity leave.

Among those laid off are both junior staff and developers who have been with Rocksteady for over five years. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was the company’s largest recent release, but it received mixed reviews and failed to build a stable player base. Warner Bros Discovery has blamed the game for a decline in gaming revenue.

Last month, the company reported a 41% drop in gaming revenue for the second quarter compared to the previous year, attributing this decline to the weak performance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League compared to the strong performance of Hogwarts Legacy in the prior year. Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav stated that the difference in performance between Suicide Squad and Hogwarts Legacy resulted in a $200 million impact on EBITDA in the first quarter.