Despite its undeniable potential,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis a certified failure, at least commercially.Rocksteady’s take on DC’s gang of unlikely heroes was meant to be a live-service titlewith long legs, but didn’t even make it a full year before its content faucet was shut off. This didn’t exactly come as a surprise for most players, as the game was panned even before its release, with audiences and critics alike lamenting its live-service foundation and looter-shooter elements.
WhetherSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguefailed due to its inherent live-service aspects, shallow quest design, repetitive gameplay, or a combination of disparate factors will be debated at length in the coming years, but the fact remains that the game is effectively “dead.” With no more content on the way and an anemic playerbase, it’s likely only a matter of time beforeSuicide Squad’s servers are shut off entirely, with Warner Bros. writing it off as a loss and moving on to the next gamble. But its unlikely that any of the controlling parties will simply wash their hands of this flop and move on as if nothing happened: this experience is sure to inform future DC Comics projects.
It’s not hard to imagine what a successful,well-craftedJustice Leaguegamecould look like. A game focused on some of pop culture’s most iconic figures, allowing players to fill the shoes of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, or any number of other leading DC heroes would be good enough, but a cooperative framework would elevate the concept even further. These sorts of games were popular during the age of arcade beat-em-ups like 1992’sX-Men, but are suspiciously rare in the modern age, despite the capabilities of modern hardware, which could make for far better gameplay and narrative experiences.
Perhaps the perceived live-service gold rush is to blame for this. Something likeMarvel’s AvengersorSuicide Squadcould have been very different games, were they released as more traditional, complete multiplayer experiences rather than piecemeal GaaS quasi-subscriptions. Instead, the fundamentally transient nature of the live-service model turned these lavish adventures into chore-like slogs, focused more on grinding content than experiencing a tailored, definitive experience. IfSuicide Squadwere to succeed as a live-service, it would be easy to imagine Warner Bros. parlaying that success into a co-opJustice Leaguespin-off or sequel, but it seems likely that the company will instead keep a wide berth between it and team-up games for the time being. After all, it will take a long time to wash off the stink ofSuicide Squad, and aJustice Leaguegame may not help with this.
A Justice League Game May Yet See the Light of Day
The failure ofSuicide Squadmay come with a silver lining: Warner Bros. could recognize the shortcomings of its live-service strategy and either amend it accordingly, or abandon it altogether. What this could mean is that, down the road, aJustice Leaguegame could still be released, but it may require some more groundwork to be laid.
Warner Bros. could easily lay this foundation, though,starting with Monolith’sWonder Woman. DC Comics needs a win in the gaming sector, and ifWonder Womancan provide that, then maybe it can pave the way for aSupermanorGreen Lanternsolo game a few years after. Then, once this in-game universe is more well-developed, aJustice Leagueteam-up game could come forth. Such an idea seems like a no-brainer for the superhero genre, and with bothSuicide SquadandMarvel’s Avengersserving as cautionary tales, the idea could come to fruition wonderfully. But it will take time.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League
WHERE TO PLAY
Play as the Suicide Squad to take down the World’s Greatest DC Super Heroes, The Justice League. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, is a genre-defying, action-adventure third-person shooter from Rocksteady Studios, creators of the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham series.
