Wonder Woman game axed as Warner Bros cuts three studios

Warner Bros Discovery has confirmed plans to shut three of its gaming development studios.

The decision means the anticipated Wonder Woman game, which has been in production for three years at one of the affected studios, Monolith, will not be released.

Player First Games, which made MultiVersus, and Warner Bros. Games San Diego will also be shuttered.

The announcement comes after a difficult time in the industry, with widespread job losses as it deals with a slump in sales since the Covid pandemic.

A spokesperson from Warner Bros told the Reuters news agency the decision was aimed at boosting profitability.

On Wonder Woman, they said: “Our hope was to give players and fans the highest quality experience possible for the iconic character, and unfortunately this is no longer possible within our strategic priorities.”

Last month, MultiVersus said there would be no more updates for the game, which would have to be played offline “for the foreseeable future”.

Warner Bros said it will instead focus on developing its core franchises including Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones.

Last year was a challenging one for the games sector, seeing games delayed, studios closed around the world and thousands of layoffs including at Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation .

Warner Bros Games had big expectations for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League but the game was panned by fans and critics.

Updates for the game ended in January after weak sales and poor reviews.

And last month, the company announced the departure of David Haddad, the chief of the gaming unit, after 12 years.

Wider trends in the industry have seen sales struggle as gamers spend less on new games, choosing instead to stick with long-running online games like Fortnite or yearly franchises such as Call of Duty and EA Sports FC.

As well as people spending less on games since the pandemic, major video game makers including Warner Bros have been affected by a rumbling row over the use of artificial intelligence in production.

BBC Newsbeat has contacted Warner Bros Games for comment.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.