While layoffs and studio closures have become almost a norm in the game industry in the last two years, Warner Bros.’ decision to cancel The Wonder Woman game and shut down Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB San Diego hit differently. The feeling is almost reminiscent of when Xbox shut down four studios last year.
Monolith Productions is best known for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War while Player First Games is the studio behind the troubled MultiVersus game which will shut down on May 30. WB San Diego was a mobile-focused studio.
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“We have had to make some very difficult decisions to structure our development studios and investments around building the best games possible with our key franchises—Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC, and Game of Thrones,” Warner Bros. confirmed in a statement sent to Kotaku’s Ethan Gach.
“After careful consideration, we are closing three of our development studios – Monolith Productions, Player First Games and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. This is a strategic change in direction and not a reflection of these teams or the talent that consists within them.
“The development of Monolith’s Wonder Woman videogame will not move forward. 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. This is another tough decision, as we recognize Monolith’s storied history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games.
“We greatly admire the passion of the three teams and thank every employee for their contributions. As difficult as today is, we remain focused on and excited about getting back to producing high-quality games for our passionate fans and developed by our world class studios and getting our Games business back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.”
First announced at The Game Awards in 2021, the Wonder Woman game recently suffered a reboot in 2024 which set it back many years from launch according to a Bloomberg report earlier this month. In January, Warner Bros. Interactive confirmed that president David Haddad will leave his position after 12 years.
Warner Bros. gaming division has suffered in recent years with high-profile commercial failures like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and the not-so-successful relaunch of MultiVersus.
Last November, Warner Bros. CEO Davis Zaslav said the games division was the company’s weak link in its earnings result. According to him, the division was “substantially underperforming its potential”.
Affected Employees at Monolith Production speak
Monolith Production was based in Kirkland, Washington and has 25+ year history of innovation and excellence in games. The studio is behind several popular titles including F.E.A.R., No One Lives Forever, and Condemned as well as the Middle-earth franchises. According to LinkedIn, nearly 200 people are associated with the company, a huge number that will now be looking for new offers.
“You may have seen the news, but in case you haven’t, Monolith Productions is being shut down after ~30 years,” wrote lead concept artist Norwood Cole. “I have been affected by this along with many other talented and passionate people. I have enjoyed my time working on Wonder Woman and wish we could have shown you the fruits of our labor.”
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One of the devastating accounts we read about the impact of Monolith’s closure was from senior-level game writer and narrative designer Jennifer Allaway. She poured out her emotions on how the closure had deeply impacted her. She wrote:
“Monolith Productions no longer exists today. I am out of a job, and Wonder Woman will never see the light of day. I am 27 weeks pregnant and expected to give birth in about 11 weeks. No, I’m not okay. I’m still processing, the news broke while we were still in the meeting being told we were canceled and closed down. When we figure out what this means for my career tomorrow. Right now, I’m going to deal with the rage and grief of losing yet another project that didn’t deserve to die. I just want to ship a game.”
Lead world designer Jason R praised the team he worked with at Monolith saying, “Throughout my 20’ish years in the games industry never have I worked with such an amazing team. It was a studio full of not only talent, but also passion. Passion to make the best possible Wonder Woman game imaginable. I am honored to have been a part of such an incredible team and truly wish everyone the best!”
Others who have also posted about being laid off at the time of writing include senior technical artist Sophia Abouzeid, TV and game writer Aliz Markman, advanced designer Juan Custer, and senior software engineer Jeff Hughes.
How Warner Bros. shuttering of Player First Games impacted devs
Player First Games was created by industry veterans to “serve under-served and passionate communities of gamers”. The team has grown over the years but the troubled release and release of MultiVersus put them in a difficult spot. Some of the devs working at Player First games have posted about the layoff.
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“Hello, I am looking for any opportunities within the gaming industry,” wrote community manager Tyrell Coleman. “I have a lot of experience with esports, content creation, content strategizing, social media, and community management!”
Senior technical artist Corey Ross experienced his first career layoff with the shuttering of Player First Games. In his words, “In nearly 7 years in the games industry, I’ve been fortunate to have never been laid off, until today. I am extremely proud of #MultiVersus and the whole #PFG team, but we’ve been shut down. I’m looking to continue my career in tech art, with a focus on rigging, but I am also open to career pivots.”
GameBaba Universe found a post by one person who worked at WB San Diego. Senior advanced game server engineer and technical lead Danny Bernal made a rare appearance on LinkedIn to announce the sad news.
“It’s rare for me to ever use social media, but today warrants that,” he wrote. “It was announced today that WB Games will shutdown 3 studios. These are Player First Games, Monolith, and the upcoming WB San Diego studio which I was a part of.”
The gaming industry is going through a tough time. Just when you think the worst is behind us, news such as this one pops up to remind developers they must stay on their toes.
