Rocksteady Studios Layoffs: Video Game Developer Company Sees Job Cuts After Weak Sales of ‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’ – Reports
It seems that Rocksteady Studios is not in a 'rock steady' position as per a recent report. It is claimed that the company fired about 18 employees just from its quality assurance department, with job cuts from other departments unspecified.
Rocksteady Studios is best known for making the Batman: Arkham video games that have sold millions of copies worldwide. However, it can take just one failed game to turn your fortunes to the worst, and for this video game developer, that game turned out to be Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. As per a report in Eurgamer, Rocksteady Studios has been laying off employees after recording poor sales numbers for its most recent video game. Shell Layoffs: Energy Company To Lay Off 20% of Its Employees To Reduce Operating Expenses.
The report claims that the Quality Assurance department of Rocksteady Studios has reduced its team size to more than half, with 18 employees laid off. Formerly a 33-member team, the QA department reportedly now has 15 employees to count. It is claimed that the junior employees and the most experienced ones had faced the axe. And this is just the story of one department, with the report unsure of how mane employees have been asked to leave in the other departments of the company. The reason given is apparently 'restructuring'
What's The Reason for The Reported Layoffs?
The main reason quoted by the report is that Rocksteady Studios saw losses thanks to the middling sales of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The game has been produced in association with Warner Bros, which holds the rights for the DC characters. Warner Bros reportedly saw a loss of 41% in gaming revenue in the previous financial year. Rocksteady Studios also reported an initial loss of USD 200 million from the sales of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Intel Layoffs: Over 700 Employees in Ireland May Face Compulsory Layoffs Amid Voluntary Severance Programme, Says Report.
A Page of Rocksteady Studios' Financial Statements
What Went Wrong With 'Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League'?
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been in development at Rocksteady since 2017, though the official announcement was made only in 2020. The game faced numerous delays in its release before it finally made it to the counters on March 26, 2024. The game had been riddled with bugs and had met with average reviews.
Watch the Trailer of 'Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League':
The sales were also reportedly not up to the match. What's more, the development of the game itself had seen a few issues from poor working conditions to sexual harassment complaints from the female employees.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 02, 2024 11:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).