Warner Bros. Discovery is officially shutting down three of its big game development studios, in an effort to restructure, following a string of financial failures. The three studios closing are Monolith Productions (Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor), Player First Games (MultiVersus), and WB San Diego. Monolith’s long-in-development Wonder Woman game adaptation has also been cancelled as part of these changes.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg‘s Jason Schreier, and was later confirmed in a company statement sent to Kotaku‘s Ethan Gach. In this statement, WBD described the decision as “difficult” and a “strategic change in direction.”
Regardless of the actual closures, the statement ended with a promise to get 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.”
Monolith Productions deserves better
On the cancellation of Wonder Woman, which was previously reported to have been in development trouble, WBD said it will no longer move forward, as it was not possible to give players and fans the “highest quality experience possible for the iconic character” within its new “strategic priorities.”
“This is another tough decision, as we recognise Monolith’s storied history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games,” Warner Bros. said.
Read: Monolith’s Wonder Woman game is reportedly in trouble
That statement is putting it far too lightly. Monolith Productions was one of Warner Bros. Discovery’s crowning jewels, and it should rightfully have been treated as such. Prior to this shuttering, the studio had been around for over 30 years. It became part of WB in 2004, and formed the backbone of its early games division, producing original and tie-in content.
In 2014, it released The Lord of the Rings spin-off Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor – and this game went on to become a highly regarded, transformative title for the modern era of gaming. It was in this game that Monolith created the patented “Nemesis System” which allows for better enemy tracking, growth, and player-influenced power struggles. This system has been a frequent topic of think pieces, with many rightfully calling it a revolution that deserved to be expanded upon in other games.
Now, Warner Bros. Discovery is cutting the folks who delivered this system, and who helped to prop up the Warner Bros. Games division for more than two decades.
Several years of active development on Wonder Woman have also been thrown out with this shut down, which is a real shame. While the project reportedly went through several reboots in development, a Wonder Woman game with Monolith at the helm still had major potential.
Player First Games was acquired by WBD in July 2024
Perhaps the weirdest part of Warner Bros.’ recent shut downs is the closure of Player First Games. This studio, which was primarily tasked with supporting MultiVersus (which is shuttering in May 2025), was only acquired by WBD in July 2024.
For the record, that means it lasted just eight months under the WBD banner. Now, a “strategic shift” initiated by company management means the entire staff will be laid off.
While these decisions can be explained by the financial failures of recently-released games, including Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus, it’s extremely disappointing to see these failures shouldered by everyday staff. It feels particularly egregious that Monolith Productions was pushed into the firing line, but the loss of all three studios and the talented folks behind them, is all bad.
As in all situations like this, our thoughts are solely with the folks now out of work, as a result of company mismanagement.
