While Rocksteady’s attempt at a live-service game might have been a massive failure, the company has still reported that other titles, including Mortal Kombat 1 and even 2023’s open-world title Hogwarts Legacy are continuing to generate more revenue for the company. A Minecraft Movie – a movie under the larger Warner Bros. umbrella – was also a big part of revenues, having grossed nearly $900 million in the global box office.

In gaming in particular, Warner Bros. has reported revenue of $2.3 billion from its Studios – a year-on-year decrease of 16 percent for the division. The company has reported an overall revenue of $9 billion, which is a 9 percent decrease year-on-year.

It is worth noting that, earlier this year, Warner Bros. had announced the closure of of three of its development studios: Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego. The closure of Monolith – the studio behind Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and its sequel Shadow of War – also meant that an in-development title based on Wonder Woman was also cancelled.

“This is another tough decision, as we recognize Monolith’s storied history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games,” said the studio when it announced the studio closures. “We greatly admire the passion of the three teams and thank every employee for their contributions. As difficult as today is, we remain focused on and excited about getting back to producing high-quality games for our passionate fans, developed by our world-class studios, and getting our games business back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.”

Back in March, WB Games had revealed that its future plans revolve around focusing its “resources and capital on proven IP and games from proven, world-class studios.” The company went on to say that its games division was “a strategic differentiator” that could work nicely with the host of IP that Warner Bros. as a whole can license. The company stated that it wants to focus on some of its biggest tentpole IPs, including Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and DC Comics.

“As we have previously said, 2024 was a disappointing year for our Games business and we have recently announced a restructuring plan to refocus our resources and capital on proven IP and games from proven, world-class studios,” said the company. “We are focusing our Games business around four tentpole franchises that have each generated over $1 billion in consumer sales in past years: Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Mortal Kombat, and DC – particularly top tier characters like Batman.”

In the meantime, there are rumours floating about that WB Games might be getting ready to release an unannounced game based on a new IP later this year.

Schreier brings up the fact that, among Haddad’s decisions during his tenure include the cancellation of a new IP by Monolith that would have potentially utilize an expanded version of the Nemesis system from Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor/War. This decision had led to all directors at the studio resigning, leading to work on the Wonder Woman project starting from scratch.

The Wonder Woman game would have also made use of the Nemesis system before its development was rebooted around a year ago. This time around, it would be a linear action game.

Schreier points out that this decision was too late, and the failure of attempted live-service games with licensed characters, including Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus had already put WB Games in a bit of a hole.

“But by then, it was kind of too late especially because last year was so bad for the Warner Brothers Games organization,” said Schreier. “Last year Suicide Squad was a humongous flop – they wrote off $200 million because of that. MultiVersus and Quidditch Champions, also both flops, [they] wrote off another $100 million because of that.”

Haddad stepped down from his role as president of WB Games earlier this year after having spent 12 years with the company. His successor is JB Perrette, who is also the CEO and president of Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming and games division.

“David has thoughtfully and purposefully chosen a time when our release schedule is lighter, which will help minimize disruption to our ongoing projects and strategic plans and allow this team to smoothly prepare for its next record-breaking title,” said Perrette about Haddad’s departure.

The closure of Monolith Productions came alongside other studios at WB Games being shut down, including Player First Games and WB Games San Diego. Warner Bros. said that this happened because it had to make “some very difficult decisions to structure our development studios and investments around building the best games possible with our key franchises – Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, DC and Game of Thrones.”

While things may have been somewhat chaotic behind the scenes, comic writer Gail Simone recently commented on her time working with the studio as a long-term consultant for the Wonder Woman project. In a series of posts on X, Simone praised both the studio, as well as Warner Bros., calling both companies “enthusiastic and supportive.”

“The game was gorgeous and expansive,” wrote Simone. “It was beautiful to look at. I am not going to give details for a number of reasons, but every effort was made to make this not just a great game, but a great WONDER WOMAN game. A showpiece epic.”

“And all of that was because of the team. Everyone who worked on it brought their a-game. Programmers, artists, designers, everyone. I don’t know that I have ever worked with a team that cared more about making sure the end product was perfect.”

According to ComicBook, Gunn and Safran revealed during a recent DC Studios event that they spoke with the studios behind games like the Batman: Arkham series and the Injustice series about the future of DC-based games.

“We work incredibly closely with JB Perrette who runs that division,” said Safran at the event. “It’s really the first time its ever been this way at Warner Bros. James and I sit with the guys that run the studios under JB whether it’s NetherRealm or Rocksteady. We sit with them and we talk about characters and stories that we’re interested in and that they’re interested in.”

Gunn spoke about conversations with the studios revolving around various aspects of games that are currently in development, such as story. According to Gunn, the duo consulted with the studios about how their stories could potentially shape out, considering DC Studios’ future plans for those characters.

“We see designs for the projects in their very earliest stages,” said Gunn. “We talk about those, we talk about what the story might be and we’ll say ‘Well, you maybe you want to go this way because we’re planning on maybe doing something with this character.'”

It is worth noting that these conversations still revolve around the earlier process of game development, however, with Gunn stating that the fruits of these plans will start being seen a “couple years” from now.

While Rocksteady Studios has been reeling from the failure of its last major release, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the studio has seemingly already begun work on its next title. Reports have indicated that Rocksteady will be returning to the Batman franchise for its next game, and a job listing from earlier this month indicates that it will be a third-person open world game with an emphasis on melee combat.

However, while it might be in development, the rumours have also indicated that the in-development title is still “years away from landing”. Work on the new game seemingly started once the studio had wrapped up Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, with Rocksteady having reportedly started pitching a single-player title since back in June 2024.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League dealt a major blow to Rocksteady, however, with the company being hit by a new round of layoffs right before the year 2024 ended. Revealed back in January, the round of layoffs came soon after a similar one from back in September 2024, where Rocksteady had lost more than half of its QA staff at the time.

NetherRealm Studios, on the other hand, has largely focused on the Mortal Kombat franchise for a while, with its last DC-related title being fighting game Injustice 2. While the reception of the title was positive at the time, the studio has since been focused on continuing to support its more recent Mortal Kombat titles, including new DLC for Mortal Kombat 1.

There are also new Notorious Weapons like The Silencer, which deals 200 percent more damage to enemies affected by Scales of Libra stacks. Doctor Sivana’s Magic Bullets applies Scales of Libra and can electrify several foes simultaneously, while Chronos’ Equilibrium will deal 25 percent extra damage per one percent missing shield.

The final content update is also notable for the final battle against Brainiac and wrapping up the post-launch storyline. We’ll avoid spoilers, but it pretty much cements that no additional story content is forthcoming after this.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It will remain playable online (for now), though an offline mode is also available. PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers can claim it for free until February 3rd.

Parent company Warner Bros. Games hasn’t made any comment on the layoffs affecting Rocksteady as of yet.

The studio was hit with a round of layoffs back in September 2024 as well, which resulted in Rocksteady losing more than half of its QA staff at the time. The reasons for both of these layoffs might be due to the poor reception and sales of Rocksteady’s most recent release, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

Our own review of the game criticised it heavily for its mediocrity, which was considered a shame owing to the fact that Rocksteady has, in the past, made well-reviewed single-player titles. A key point of criticism about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is the fact that it is a multiplayer-only live-service title with repetitive gameplay.

Warner Bros. Games had revealed after the game’s initial release that it had fallen short of sales expectations, resulting in a 41 percent drop in revenue.

The layoffs have come despite other rumours indicating that a new game based on Batman is currently in development at Rocksteady. The new title is expected to be a part of the Arkham series, but neither the studio, nor WB Games have confirmed the title.

Other rumours indicate that development of the game was likely inspired by the studio wanting to go back to its roots in developing single-player titles rather than multiplayer live-service ones like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

For more details and insight into the history and current status of Rocksteady games, check out our coverage of the studio’s rise and fall from last year.

Players can unlock a new playable character in Deathstroke, a medieval-themed Elseworld, and new gear and weapons. Episode 8 features the final conflict with Brainiac, bringing the story to a close. Servers will remain available, and players can experience previous seasonal content while acquiring LutherCoins and spending them in the store. An offline mode is also currently available.

Other notable titles include Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered for PS4, which includes cross-play and visual improvements, and The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe for PS4 and PS5. The latter is an enhanced version of the 2013 narrative adventure with tons of new content and secrets to enhance the experience.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

This game doesn’t get what it means to be a superhero, full stop. Incremental powerups to characters who should already be suited to high-level meant this generic paint-by-numbers shooter was always destined to underwhelm. Most disappointing with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League though is the fact Rocksteady were at the helm. The Arkham developers crafted multiplayer shooter when atmospheric single players are their bread and butter. The reported $200 million loss on the game hasn’t perturbed WB Games though who seem strangely hellbent on going all-in on live service for their future titles.

#20. F1 24

We tend to include the F1 games in our annual lists of games with the best visuals pretty regularly, but that’s because the series has this department on lock. Like its predecessors, F1 24 is a beautiful game, touting stellar vehicle models with an impressive level of attention to detail, authentic lighting and weather effects lending new life to the courses, and more. Year after year, this series successfully delivers a realistic and comprehensive recreation of the real sport, and the presentation and visual fidelity play an important role in that.

#19. BODYCAM

Bodycam has a number of shortcomings in its current state that we’re hoping it will address over the course of its ongoing early access period, but one area where the game deserves all the props in the world is the way it looks. As its name suggests, its played from the first-person perspective of a bodycam on your character, and combines that with a hyper-realistic aesthetic that achieves quite a striking result. The game looks startlingly good at times, and we’re curious to see how it will continue to improve on the road to its full release.

#18. EMPIRE OF THE ANTS

Here’s another game coming from a small time that ended up surprising a great many people with its graphics. Empire of the Ants is a decidedly small-budget game, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from just looking at it. Sporting an impressive photorealistic style, the game transports players to a lush jungle where every single blade of grass, every leaf on the ground, every rock jutting out of the ground, and every single insect and critter that you lay your eyes on looks shockingly lifelike. Obviously, there are some rough edges here and there, but the overall result is nothing short of splendid.

#17. GRAY ZONE WARFARE

Indie studio Madfinger Games launched its multiplayer open world FPS Gray Zone Warfare in early access this year, and though there’s plenty of work for the developer to do to address feedback from the community, the game’s visuals are pretty much unanimously liked. There’s a good amount of rough edges that need sanding out, which is to be expected from a game of this size coming from a smaller team and still being in early access, but its open world map is also full of beautiful sights to see.

#16. DRAGON BALL: SPARKING! ZERO

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO brought the Budokai Tenkaichi series back with a bang this year, and though the list of things in the game worthy of praise is a long one, its graphics are high on it. As you’d expect from a Dragon Ball game, Sparking! ZERO relies more on its stylized art style than on pure visual fidelity, but one way or another, the effect it achieves instantly catches the eye. In motion, the game looks particularly amazing, and watching explosive, map-destroying fights between colossally powerful characters attacking each other with everything they’ve got never loses its charm.

#15. LIKE A DRAGON: INFINITE WEALTH

The Like a Dragon series has always straddled the line between high budget photorealism and mid budget stylization perfectly, and Infinite Wealth does the same, producing yet another Dragon Engine game that you can’t quite tear your eyes away from. Given the scope of the game, it’s not surprising that not everything looks spectacular- but a lot of things to do, and everything else looks at least a minimum level of good. Overall, Infinite Wealth brings its vibrant Hawaii setting to the screen spectacularly, and easily ranks as one of the year’s better-looking games.

#14. STELLAR BLADE

Stellar Blade took many by surprise for multiple reasons, but all of it could be boiled down to it coming from a relatively unknown studio with little to no AAA console experience. For it to turn out as well as it did was a pleasant surprise, then, as was the fact that it also ended up looking as gorgeous as it did. Stellar Blade touts some of the most impressive visuals we’ve seen in a PS5 exclusive game so far (especially if you play it on a PS5 Pro), with everything from the dilapidated post-apocalyptic environments and the excellently designed monsters you fight to the Eve’s slick combat animations looking pristine.

#13. DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD

Like pretty much everything else about the game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s graphics divided opinion, with many expressing their dislike of the new, more stylized art style. And though it is clearly a break from the more grimdark style past games used, we fall in the group that ultimately really likes what the game looks like. The Veilguard is a visual stunner in more ways than one, with a bevy of environments that are brimming with vistas that will take your breath away, not to mention some of the most impressive lighting we’ve seen in a game this year.

#12. STAR WARS OUTLAWS

Calling Star Wars Outlaws an uneven experience would be a huge understatement, but when the game is at its best, it’s really, really good- and in the graphics department, it’s definitely at its best. Yes, the game has its fair share of visual glitches and technical hiccups, but little of it detracts from just how stunning it looks more often than not. No matter where you find yourself in its open world multiplanetary setting, Outlaws finds ways to take your breath away with its sights and sounds. Coming from the studio behind The Division, that doesn’t come as a huge surprise.

#11. DRAGON’S DOGMA 2

Capcom has an admirable habit of cranking out a steady stream of AAA megatons that somehow all look spectacular. Dragon’s Dogma 2 was the company’s big centerpiece in 2024, and though it doesn’t look as good as, say, the best-looking Resident Evil games out there, it does look really, really good. From the detailed environments of its sprawling open world, to the incredibly lifelike (and vastly varied) roster of monster and creatures that you take on, to, of course, how oppressively impressive the game’s darkness feels, there’s a bevy of things in Dragon’s Dogma 2 that illustrate just how visually impressive it is.

#10. INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE

It may have been a while since MachineGames’ last major full-fledged AAA release, but as a studio that has always delivered visually impressive games, it did not disappoint with its return to the spotlight in the final days of this year with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a game that impresses graphically in more ways than one. It crafts its period setting with great alpomb, lets players explore a vast and varied collection of beautiful and highly detailed locations, and of course, does it all while capturing that classic Indiana Jones aesthetic. It absolutely knocks the ball out of the park in this department.

#9. SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was a disastrous game- there’s just no two ways about it. But even the most disastrous games tend to have at least some redeeming qualities, and so, too, did Suicide Squad. Chief among the few was how good it looked, an area where Rocksteady Studios as a developer has never disappointed in the past. The game obviously has crippling issues that make it an absolute drag to play even at the best of times, but visually, there’s a lot to be impressed with here, especially if it’s the game’s impressive cinematics you’re talking about.

#8. TEKKEN 8

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Tekken 8 one of the best-looking fighting games ever made. Coming earlier this year as one of the biggest current-gen exclusive Unreal Engine 5 games so far, Bandai Namco’s acclaimed fighter was promising to be absolutely astounding to look at in the lead up to release, and it unquestionably lived up to that promise. From the stages to the character models to the often explosive effects we see on the screen, Tekken 8 has no shortage of tricks up its sleeve to make you stop in your tracks and marvel at its beauty.

#7. WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE 2

Space Marine 2 is without a doubt one of the most technically impressive games we’ve played in a long, long time. For starters, it looks excellent, with gorgeously detailed environments, well-crafted character models, and excellent enemy designs. But of course, what’s most impressive about it are the many sequences and moments where you find yourself facing overwhelmingly massive hordes of enemies, when literally hundreds upon hundreds of foes are on-screen together, all barreling in your direction while you stomp around and mow them down. The fact that the game accomplishes all of that without any significant issues with its performance just makes it that much more impressive. It’s truly something of a miracle.

#6. BLACK MYTH: WUKONG

For about four years prior to its launch, every time we saw more of Black Myth: Wukong, one thing that stood out above everything else was just how stunning it looked- something that stood out that much more given the fact that the game was coming from a lesser-known Chinese studio with a nonexistent AAA track record. When it launched in August, Black Myth was thankfully exactly as gorgeous as it was touted to be. Varied environments, spectacularly designed bosses, and some of the most breathtaking vistas we’ve seen in games all year all come together in what’s easily one of the best-looking games of this generation (even if it does have the odd technical rough edge).

#5. FINAL FANTASY 7 REBIRTH

There’s no end to the things about Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth that we can praise endlessly, and its visual splendour is high on that list. Obviously, we can’t ignore the fact that the game does suffer from some graphical inconsistencies, especially when played on Performance Mode. Even at its worst, however, Rebirth has a knack of looking impressive, while at its best, it’s drop-dead gorgeous. Its staggeringly large world is crawling with beautiful sights that are begging to be sought out and taken in, while on a PS5 Pro in particular, it looks absolutely stunning with little to no caveats.

#4. SILENT HILL 2

Silent Hill 2’s remake sparked a good deal of skepticism from many, which, given developer Bloober Team’s spotty track record up to that point, was fair to understand, but the one area where even the game’s biggest skeptics knew it wouldn’t disappoint was its graphics. That’s a department that always shines in Bloober games, and sure enough, Silent Hill 2 is an absolute looker. The decrepit eponymous town and the horrors that it hide are brought to life in spectacular and terrifying fashion, while Silent Hill 2’s familiar cast of characters are given new life by the stellar fidelity that the game now boasts. And yes, the fog looks amazing.

#3. MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR 2024

Microsoft Flight Simulator took our collective breath away when it launched in 2020, and still stands as one of the best-looking games around on any platform. Appropriately enough, Microsoft Flight SImulator 2024 turned out to be somehow even more visually impressive. Marginally gains are definitely setting in, which is unavoidable, but at the end of the day, even the most jaded person can’t help but be floored by the stunning level of detail, authenticity, and photorealism with which Flight Sim 2024 brings its grand vision to life.

#2. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: HEART OF CHORNOBYL

Much like its predecessors, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is a little rough around the edges, and with its slate of technical issues and its deliberately punishing nature, it’s definitely not a game for everyone. But boy oh boy is it a visual delight. GSC Game World’s open world shooter is easily among the best-looking games to have been released this generation. It boasts a staggering level of detail and fidelity across a huge world with impressive consistency. The game deserves all the praise in the world for the lengths to which it goes to make its world feel authentic, and to immerse players in its deadly setting.

#1. SENUA’S SAGA: HELLBLADE 2

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 certainly has its critics, and there are many who argue that it doesn’t hold a candle to its predecessor in a lot of ways that really matter. One area where it unquestionably makes huge strides, however, is the graphics department. Ninja Theory as a studio has always prided itself on pushing the envelope with what it does on the technological side of things, and this time, with the financial backing of Microsoft, the developer really went all out. Whether it’s its dark and grimy setting or the incredibly lifelike characters and their facial movements, the stellar lighting and the rich atmosphere it helps create or the spectacular animations that allow even gameplay moments to look like gorgeously handcrafted cinematics- from its first moment to its last, Hellblade 2 remains a visual delight.

Star Wars Outlaws

As iffy as certain things looked before launch, there was still some hope for Star Wars Outlaws from Massive Entertainment’s involvement alone. The Reputation and Wanted system, more organic exploration, and focus on single-player were all the right moves, but it didn’t land for consumers. Those who took the plunge suffered numerous bugs and issues with movement, combat, AI, stealth, and so on. It’s a better game now, but Outlaws still needs work.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

Even with successes like Helldivers 2, this year just wasn’t it for live-service titles. However, the negative response to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League began well prior, with many criticizing the looter shooter’s format. The release sadly did nothing to rise to the occasion, featuring a horrendous story that falls off a cliff, insufferable characters, and the same dreary games-as-a-service mission structure seen hundreds of times before. With a $200 million impact on Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue, Suicide Squad clearly didn’t meet expectations.

Skull and Bones

Alleged reboots, high-profile departures, constant delays, and a ballooning budget – Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones had all the key ingredients for a potential disaster. Adding in all the live-service staples like seasons, always-online gameplay, a focus on multiplayer, and whatnot hastened the game’s doom (calling it a quadruple-A title also didn’t help). With player numbers reportedly coming in at less than a million around launch, it was a failure before it even got started.

Planet Coaster 2

Incredible visuals and the studio’s penchant for attention to detail did little to make a difference for Planet Coaster 2, which is, by all accounts, a hotly awaited sequel, that much more palatable. The awful UI, pathing issues, lackluster pools, awful characters and various bugs were just too significant to ignore, even with the better campaign. Frontier has rolled out improvements, and it will likely excel in the long run, but for now, Planet Coaster 2 is an underwhelming ride.

Farming Simulator 25

After the failure of Farming Simulator 23 (at least on Nintendo Switch), Farming Simulator 25 marked a return for the franchise to consoles and PC. It shipped with extensive bugs, an annoying user interface, jarring physics, and multitudes of other issues that remain. That’s on top of the unoptimized performance on PC, which hinders the otherwise strong environmental effects and textures. Mods will likely make it a better experience over time but at this point, fans would appreciate a strong title out of the gate (which certainly applies to our next choice).

Starfield: Shattered Space

Starfield had its share of mixed impressions after launching last year and Shattered Space seemed like the perfect opportunity to address many issues while offering a fresh slate. However, the hand-crafted planet of Var’uun’kai delivered the most rudimentary content and barren surroundings to go with lackluster characters and story-telling. Even the intriguing gravity anomalies barely appear after a point.

A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead

I was excited about Stormind Games’ first-person horror, especially with how it leveraged the films and their mechanics. Unfortunately, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is a hugely linear, highly scripted experience with bizarre AI, questionable design decisions, and a predictable story that fails to really leverage its endearing characters.

Concord

Sony’s biggest first-party failure in years, Concord was seemingly doomed from its first proper reveal, especially when the hero shooter elements became apparent. After a beta with abysmal numbers, it would launch to middling reviews and reportedly sold only 25,000 copies. Sony initially pulled the title from sale and shut down servers before eventually shuttering it and Firewalk Studio.

Rise of the Ronin

Director Fumihiko Yasuda revealed around June that Rise of the Ronin was Koei Tecmo’s best-selling game so far, with the publisher even reporting higher sales than Nioh. That’s all great, but the game itself fell short of what we expected in terms of open-world activities and storytelling. At least the combat remains enjoyable, and Team Ninja has provided some extensive post-launch content for free.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

The first Dragon Age title in ten years was bound to have astronomical expectations, especially with all the rumors and reports of reboots. Combat was sharp despite pivoting to a real-time hack-and-slash approach and the environments are gorgeous, without a doubt. It’s everything else that either whelmed or disappointed, from the uneven characterization and writing to the mission structure. Though it wasn’t BioWare’s worst, it’s far from being its best.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Significant improvements over last year’s game don’t excuse Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 from disappointing in other ways. Despite a superior campaign, its story ultimately felt flat (and continued the same cliffhanger approach), while multiplayer fell short with its map design. Zombies is surprisingly good despite some balance issues, and while the overall experience classifies as “good,” it’s nowhere near the series’ heights.

Unknown 9: Awakening

There’s always some skepticism when a developer gets ahead itself and plans out an entire universe for its IP before the first game even launches. Unfortunately, Unknown 9: Awakening loaded its bland premise with dull writing and boring combat, while various bugs and performance issues weighed even heavier. Suffice it to say that with an all-time peak concurrent player count of 285 on Steam at launch, Unknown 9: Awakening failed to meet any expectations heaped on it.

MultiVersus

From promising platform fighter to being pulled and relaunching earlier this year in a worse form, MultiVersus has had quite the journey. It’s hard to pinpoint all the issues, be it the sheer lack of quality-of-life features at launch or how underwhelming Rifts felt after they finally went live, but above all else, the feel and fluidity from the open beta felt like it was missing. And unfortunately, Player First Games hasn’t been able to capture the magic ever since.

XDefiant

Initially revealed as part of the Tom Clancy series, XDefiant would become a standalone entity while still crossing over with the publisher’s various other titles. However, despite some responsive shooting, it couldn’t match the features and content of other free-to-play shooters at launch. Various issues like network performance also affected it, causing a sharp downturn. Maybe there’s still time to right the ship, but based on the company’s other live-service endeavors, XDefiant’s days could be numbered.

Outcast: A New Beginning

Developing a sequel to a niche title from the late 90s is unusual on its own, but perhaps Outcast: The New Beginning could cater to long-time fans. What it offered was a massive world with nothing exciting, loading up players with menial tasks and awful writing. Appealing as it may be for those seeking more old-school-style titles, A New Beginning felt more like an awkward continuation for a cult-classic series.

According to a new FAQ, players must create a separate profile to play offline. It can be a brand new profile starting from the beginning or a copy of an existing online profile with all your progress to date. The progression of both profiles is separate, and nothing carries over between them. Furthermore, you can’t convert an offline profile into an online one.

Otherwise, the offline mode includes all playable content, including the campaign and seasonal story missions. Players must still connect online and download Episode 8 when it goes live. It’s also confirmed that battle passes and LutherCoins won’t be available when playing offline. Cosmetics acquired in online mode (including Deluxe Edition content) are also usable offline.

Leaderboards and Social Squad also won’t be available alongside other social features. You can earn Achievements and Trophies on consoles when, though PC players must connect online for the same.

With the arrival of offline mode and Season 4 being the last content update, many would suspect the end of server support sometime soon. DC Games Support confirmed “no plans” to do so “at this time” but affirms that the title will remain playable offline when players update to a version containing the same. Those with physical copies can’t play offline without the latest update.