Following a report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Warner Bros. Video games has confirmed to Kotaku through e-mail that it’s shutting down Monolith Productions, Participant First Video games and WB Video games San Diego. Monolith’s Surprise Girl has additionally been cancelled.
In its assertion, the corporate mentioned it needed to make “some very troublesome selections to construction our improvement studios and investments round constructing one of the best video games potential with our key franchises – Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Sport of Thrones.” The choice to shut Monolith, Participant First Video games and WB Video games San Diego occurred after “cautious consideration.”
“It is a strategic change in course and never a mirrored image of those groups or the expertise inside them.”
Relating to Surprise Girl, the corporate hoped to supply “the very best high quality expertise potential for the long-lasting character, and sadly, that is not potential inside our strategic priorities.”
“That is one other robust determination, as we acknowledge Monolith’s storied historical past of delivering epic fan experiences by means of wonderful video games. We tremendously admire the fervour of the three groups and thank each worker for his or her contributions. As troublesome as in the present day is, we stay targeted on and enthusiastic about getting again to producing high-quality video games for our passionate followers, developed by our world-class studios, and getting our video games enterprise again to profitability and progress in 2025 and past.”
Stories of Surprise Girl’s troubled improvement appeared earlier this month, revealing that it was rebooted in early 2024. Its price range reportedly exceeded $100 million however “struggled to coalesce.” Whereas famous to be years off from launch, there was concern whether or not it could ever launch.
As for Participant First Video games, it just lately introduced the top of service for MultiVersus in Could. The platform fighter had a blended reception after exiting open beta and contributed to a $100 million loss for WB Video games. WB Video games San Diego was established in 2019 to develop free-to-play cellular video games, although nothing concrete emerged.
