Warner Bros Discovery has announced sweeping cuts to its gaming division following a disappointing 2024 performance, shuttering three studios and cancelling its planned Wonder Woman game, according to an internal memo from JB Perrette, the company's CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games.
The restructuring will see the closure of Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego. Monolith Productions, known for its critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings titles—Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War—was set to leverage its popular Nemesis system on a Wonder Woman project announced in 2021. However, the studio will now be shuttered as part of the broader overhaul.
Player First Games, acquired by Warner Bros Discovery last year and responsible for the platform fighting game MultiVersus, which initially attracted 20 million players, will also be closed. The company had already announced plans to shut down the online services for MultiVersus at the end of its fifth season this May.
Additionally, WB Games San Diego, which was developing AAA free-to-play gaming experiences, will cease operations. This move comes on the heels of layoffs at WB Games Montreal and a pullback on the game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, signaling deep cuts across the division.
In the internal email, Perrette emphasized the need for a strategic refocus: “We need to make some substantial changes to our portfolio/team structure if we are to commit the necessary resources to get back to a ‘fewer but bigger franchises’ strategy.” Going forward, Warner Bros Discovery’s gaming efforts will concentrate on four core properties: Harry Potter (including Hogwarts Legacy), Mortal Kombat, the DC universe, and Game of Thrones.
The decision reflects a broader industry trend of consolidating resources around fewer, more robust franchises amid mounting pressure to deliver blockbuster gaming experiences. As Warner Bros Discovery pivots its strategy, the impact of these cuts will be closely watched by investors and industry analysts alike.
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