Warner Bros. Halts Development of Wonder Woman Game and Shuts Down Three Studios

Warner Bros. has decided to cancel its upcoming Wonder Woman video game and shut down three of its game development studios: Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego. This news was reported by journalist Jason Schreier from Bloomberg, who shared the information on his social media account. Shortly afterward, Warner Bros. confirmed the studio closures in a statement to Kotaku.

In their statement, the company explained that they had to make tough decisions to reorganize their game development to focus on their most popular franchises, such as Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC, and Game of Thrones. They emphasized that the closures were a strategic shift and not a reflection on the talented people working at these studios. Warner Bros. expressed disappointment that they could no longer proceed with Monolith’s Wonder Woman game since they wished to deliver a high-quality experience for fans of the character. They acknowledged the history and efforts of the teams involved and thanked the employees for their contributions. Despite the closures, Warner Bros. remains committed to producing quality games and wants to achieve profitability and growth by 2025.

Earlier this year, the Wonder Woman game faced challenges, including director changes and other issues within Warner Bros.’ gaming sector. There had already been setbacks, such as layoffs at Rocksteady and mixed reactions to the game “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.” Additionally, the company had to shut down a game called MultiVersus.

Recently, changes within the company have been notable, including the departure of David Haddad, the long-standing head of Warner Bros. Games, and rumors that the gaming division might be sold. This latest move is particularly significant for the gaming efforts connected to Warner Bros.’ DC universe. Just a day before the studio closures, James Gunn and Peter Safran mentioned that it would take several years before a new DC video game would be released.

The shuttering of these studios marks the loss of three long-standing entities in the gaming industry. Monolith Productions has been around since 1994 and joined Warner Bros. in 2004. They are best known for the games “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor” and its sequel, “Shadow of War,” which introduced the innovative Nemesis system, a feature that Warner Bros. patented in 2021. Player First Games, founded in 2019, created the well-received game MultiVersus, although it did not meet Warner Bros.’ expectations fully. WB San Diego, also established in 2019, focused on mobile and free-to-play games.

These closures are part of a larger trend over the past three years, with many studios facing layoffs, project cancellations, and shutdowns. In 2023, it is estimated that over 10,000 game developers lost their jobs, and this figure rose to more than 14,000 in 2024. The full impact of layoffs in 2025 is unclear as fewer companies report exact numbers or details about affected employees.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN and shares updates on her BlueSky account. If you have any news tips, you can reach out to her via email.