David Haddad, who has been steering the ship at Warner Bros. Games, is stepping down as president following an underwhelming debut of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. This game, which hit the market in 2024, didn’t quite manage to capture the hearts of a committed fanbase and faced criticism for its gameplay and live-service components.
Over the past year, WB Games has been losing ground with its audience, partly due to a string of games that didn’t resonate well. Besides Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the fighting game MultiVersus didn’t fare much better. Players were vocal about their dissatisfaction with its monetization strategy and the absence of offline gameplay modes. Even though Hogwarts Legacy was a major hit in late 2023, its follow-up, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, released in September 2024, left fans unimpressed due to subpar graphics and repetitive gameplay.
Variety reports that Haddad will exit after 12 years at the helm of WB Games. Reflecting on his tenure, Haddad expressed his pride in the team’s accomplishments and shared his excitement for their future projects. While he’ll be at the company for a few more months to ensure a smooth transition, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav acknowledged in a recent financial call that the gaming division hasn’t been performing up to par. The focus moving forward will be primarily on a sequel to Hogwarts Legacy and expanding the DC titles.
Looking back, the announcement came in December 2024 that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League would receive its final piece of new content by January 2025, signaling the end of its live-service run. This setback was somewhat unexpected, considering it was developed by Rocksteady, the creators of the iconic Batman: Arkham series. The game’s poor reception also brought about layoffs at Rocksteady in September 2024, with sales falling well below expectations. As a result, Warner Bros. reported a staggering $200 million loss on the project, further evidenced by a 41% decline in year-over-year revenue.
The road ahead for WB Games is murky, but a potential Hogwarts Legacy sequel might help restore faith and generate much-needed income. Meanwhile, there’s buzz around the anticipated Wonder Woman game. However, fans may be in for a long wait, as insiders suggest it won’t be released until at least 2026 due to the project being announced before development truly got underway.
