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	<title>Warner Bros. Games &#8211; Video Game News, Reviews, Walkthroughs And Guides | GamingBolt</title>
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		<title>Mortal Kombat 1 Celebrates Mortal Kombat 2&#8217;s Theatrical Release With Movie-Based Skins</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-celebrates-mortal-kombat-2s-theatrical-release-with-movie-based-skins</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joelle Daniels]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 15:42:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortal Kombat 1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortal Kombat 2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[netherrealm studios]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Line Cinema]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ps5]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox Series S]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=643499</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Johnny Cage, Kitana, Scorpion, and Shao Kahn have gotten new skins to bring their appearances in line with the recently-released film.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Games have released a brand new trailer for <em>Mortal Kombat 1 Definitive Edition</em>, revealing a host of new costumes coming to the fighting game to celebrate the theatrical release of <em>Mortal Kombat 2</em>. The trailer confirms that Johnny Cage, Kitana, Scorpion, and Shao Kahn have gotten new skins to bring their appearance closer in line with their live-action movie depictions.</p>
<p><em>Mortal Kombat 1 Definitive Edition</em> is available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. Along with the base game, the Definitive Edition release also includes Kombat Pack, Kombat Pack 2, and the Khaos Reigns story expansion. Kameo fighters that were released as DLC—Tremor, Khameleon, Janet Cage, Ferra, and Mavado—are also available in the bundle.</p>
<p>Other additions include a Jean-Claude Van Damme skin for Johnny Cage, 1,250 Dragon Krystals, Tournament Liu Kang skin, an instant unlock for Havik, the Kameo Unlock Pack, Shang Tsung as a playable fighter, and all of the Khaos Reigns pre-order skins.</p>
<p>The new movie-based skins come a year after NetherRealm Studios had announced that it would <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-wont-receive-any-more-story-dlc-or-characters-netherrealm-focused-on-next-project">not be working on any more story or character DLCs</a> for <em>Mortal Kombat 1</em>, with the studio directing its efforts on its next major project.</p>
<p>More recently, studio boss Ed Boon had confirmed that NetherRealm <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-studio-is-definitely-pursuing-another-entry-in-the-franchise">wants to return to the <em>Mortal Kombat</em> franchise</a> at some point. However, he couldn&#8217;t reveal any more details at the risk of getting into trouble.</p>
<p>“We’re definitely pursuing another <em>Mortal Kombat</em> game, and we’re definitely doing more, as well, so there are a lot of parts on the stove, not just with games, though, with other forms of media and whatnot. So, we’ve got a lot of great announcements that are coming,” he said.</p>
<p>A report from May 2025 has indicated that the studio&#8217;s next project might be a brand new entry in its superhero fighting game series, <em>Injustice</em>. However, <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/netherrealm-studios-superhero-fighting-game-might-not-be-part-of-the-injustice-franchise-rumor">more recent rumors</a> have indicated that, while it will still feature DC&#8217;s superheroes, the studio is looking to move away from the <em>Injustice</em> brand.</p>
<p>The most recent entry in the <em>Injustice</em> franchise was the second game, released in 2017 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. After wrapping up its post-launch support, NetherRealm Studios had focused its efforts on the <em>Mortal Kombat</em> franchise, with <em>Mortal Kombat 11</em> coming to PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2019, and <em>Mortal Kombat 1</em> coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2023.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Boon had also spoken about working on <em>Mortal Kombat 1</em> so that NetherRealm Studios could bring in <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-is-happening-before-injustice-3-due-to-engine-upgrade-ed-boon">more improvements to its game engine</a>. Noting that COVID-19 led to the studio being more careful with employee safety, he said that the studio eventually decided to make one more <em>Mortal Kombat</em> before <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/injustice-3-is-netherrealms-next-title-rumor">potentially working on an <em>Injustice</em> game</a>.</p>
<p><em>Mortal Kombat 1</em> has proven to be quite successful, <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-has-sold-8-million-copies">having sold 8 million copies</a>. However, it couldn&#8217;t reach the heights of its predecessor—<em>Mortal Kombat 11</em>—which had sold 15 million copies as of 2022.</p>
<p><iframe title="Mortal Kombat 1 x Mortal Kombat II Film Mashup Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QxfMJNH_h_s?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
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		<title>Mortal Kombat Studio is &#8220;Definitely Pursuing&#8221; Another Entry in the Franchise</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-studio-is-definitely-pursuing-another-entry-in-the-franchise</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joelle Daniels]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 14:05:59 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortal Kombat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[netherrealm studios]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ps5]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox Series S]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Xbox Series X]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=643134</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[While not confirming rumors of a new entry in the Injustice franchise, studio boss Ed Boon said there are "a lot of parts on the stove."]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With plenty of <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/injustice-3-is-netherrealms-next-title-rumor">rumors flying around</a> that NetherRealm Studios is working on a brand new fighting game based on DC&#8217;s superheroes, studio boss Ed Boon has now confirmed that there are plans for another entry in the <em>Mortal Kombat</em> franchise. In an interview with <a href="https://collider.com/mortal-kombat-vs-street-fighter-creator-ed-boon-trash-talk-comments-new-mk-game/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collider</a>, he spoke about how he couldn&#8217;t tease anything for now because he would &#8220;probably get in trouble&#8221;.</p>
<p>Interestingly, however, he noted that, along with another <em>Mortal Kombat</em> game, NetherRealm Studios is also working on other projects, saying that the studio has &#8220;a lot of parts on the stove&#8221; and seemingly hinting at transmedia aspirations, where its stories are told outside of video games.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re definitely pursuing another <em>Mortal Kombat</em> game, and we&#8217;re definitely doing more, as well, so there are a lot of parts on the stove, not just with games, though, with other forms of media and whatnot. So, we’ve got a lot of great announcements that are coming,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>The previous entry in the <em>Mortal Kombat</em> franchise was 2023&#8217;s <em>Mortal Kombat 1</em>. The title saw a decent amount of success, with the studio confirming last month that it had sold <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-has-sold-8-million-copies">8 million copies</a>. However, its predecessor, 2019&#8217;s <em>Mortal Kombat 11</em>, was quite a bit more successful, having hit 15 million sales as of 2022.</p>
<p>After releasing a host of DLC characters for the title, including <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-t-1000-gameplay-trailer-showcases-more-shapeshifting-and-stabbing">the T-1000 from <em>Terminator 2: Judgment Day</em></a>, the studio <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-wont-receive-any-more-story-dlc-or-characters-netherrealm-focused-on-next-project">announced in May 2025</a> that it had turned its attention to other projects, and as a result, was done with post-launch content for the fighting game.</p>
<p>&#8220;We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but our team at NetherRealm needs to shift focus to the next project in order to make it as great as we possibly can,&#8221; said the studio in a social media post.</p>
<p><em>Mortal Kombat 1</em> served as a soft reboot for the entire franchise thanks to the events of <em>Mortal Kombat 11</em> and its <em>Aftermath</em> DLC. Set in the New Era created by Liu Kang—now Fire God and Keeper of Time—the game tells the story of Shang Tsung slowly discovering that the universe had conspired against him.</p>
<p>In terms of gameplay, <em>Mortal Kombat 1</em> also brought in a radical shift from its predecessor, leaving behind many of its features like custom movesets in favor of a back-to-basics approach as seen in <em>Mortal Kombat 9</em>. It also introduced Kameo Fighters—assist characters that can help extend combos or even perform unique fatalities. For more details, check out <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-review">our review of its launch version</a>.</p>
<p>As for what its non-<em>Mortal Kombat</em> project might be, a recent rumor has indicated that NetherRealm Studios <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/netherrealm-studios-superhero-fighting-game-might-not-be-part-of-the-injustice-franchise-rumor">might be moving away from the <em>Injustice</em> branding</a> for its superhero fighting game. The decision wouldn&#8217;t surprise many, since the last entry in the <em>Injustice</em> franchise was 2017&#8217;s <em>Injustice 2</em>. Almost an entire decade removed from the fighting game, the studio may likely tap into other DC comic storylines, like the ongoing <em>Absolute Universe</em>, or even its <em>DC KO</em> crossover series.</p>
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		<title>NetherRealm&#8217;s Next Fighting Game May Not Be Called Injustice 3 &#8211; Rumor</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/netherrealm-studios-superhero-fighting-game-might-not-be-part-of-the-injustice-franchise-rumor</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joelle Daniels]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2026 13:53:08 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rumors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Injustice 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[netherrealm studios]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Games]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=642815</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The last entry in the Injustice franchise came out all the way back in 2017, and NetherRealm Studios might be looking forward to a new story.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>While NetherRealm Studios has been quiet since it wrapped up post-launch support for <em>Mortal Kombat 1</em>, previous reports have indicated that the developer is working on a new fighting game based on DC&#8217;s roster of superheroes. While previously thought to be a new entry in the <em>Injustice</em> franchise, known leaker MultiverSusie has indicated that the company might start moving away from the <em>Injustice</em> branding.</p>
<p>Referring to a <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/injustice-3-is-netherrealms-next-title-rumor">post of theirs from May 2025</a>, MultiverSusie once again took to social media to write that, &#8220;I think it&#8217;s time we move on from the <em>Injustice</em> branding, maybe.&#8221;</p>
<p>The original <em>Injustice</em> games revolved around an alternate universe where Superman became evil and decided to take over the world, prompting superheroes like Batman to team up with their mainline universe counterparts to bring him down. Widely praised for its single-player content as well as a strong roster of characters, the 2013 fighting game would get a sequel in 2017, continuing the story and also bringing in even more additions to the roster, as well as more single-player content.</p>
<p>Thanks to their strong emphasis on narrative, both <em>Injustice</em> titles got DC comic tie-ins that would further expand on the story and even bring in characters that weren&#8217;t involved with the games themselves. However, with almost ten years having passed since the release of the last <em>Injustice</em> game, NetherRealm Studios might be looking forward to setting its new DC superhero fighting game in a new setting.</p>
<p>Interestingly, for a potential new <em>Injustice</em>-styled fighting game, NetherRealm Studios has quite a few options to choose from, including the critically-acclaimed <em>Absolute Universe</em>, which has been well-regarded for its storytelling, character reimaginings, and even the level of violence that has often been rare in mainstream American comics.</p>
<p>It is worth noting that, earlier this week, a Warner Bros. Games artist&#8217;s resume indicated that they were <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/injustice-3-reportedly-spotted-on-warner-bros-artists-resume">involved in the development of <em>Injustice 3</em></a>. While they didn&#8217;t reveal too many details about their work on the project, some attached screenshots indicated two unannounced games &#8211; Hogwarts Legacy 2 and <em>Injustice 2</em> &#8211; both having &#8220;TBD&#8221; next to their titles. Since this means that those game titles aren&#8217;t set in stone yet, this could be yet another strong indicator that the new fighting game might not be <em>Injustice 3</em> after all.</p>
<p>While the studio hasn&#8217;t officially confirmed that it has been working on a brand new <em>Injustice</em> game, studio boss and game director Ed Boon had spoken about wanting to make <em>Mortal Kombat 1</em> before a new entry in the superhero fighting game series in order to first work on <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-is-happening-before-injustice-3-due-to-engine-upgrade-ed-boon">upgrades to the development team&#8217;s tools</a>.</p>
<p>“We did go to a new graphics engine,” Boon said in an interview back in 2023. “We really wanted to be careful with COVID and all that stuff, and everybody staying safe. So there were a bunch of variables involved that eventually made us realize, ‘Okay, let’s do another Mortal Kombat game, and hopefully we’ll get back to the <em>Injustice</em> games.&#8217;”</p>
<p>The last release by NetherRealm Studios was <em>Mortal Kombat 1</em> on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. While it sold 8 million copies as of last month, the studio had <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/mortal-kombat-1-wont-receive-any-more-story-dlc-or-characters-netherrealm-focused-on-next-project">confirmed in 2025</a> that it will not get any more story DLC or characters, with the development team being focused on its next project.</p>


<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/multiversusie/status/2049971229663129757
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		<title>Cancelled The Dark Knight Game Adaptation&#8217;s Pre-Production Files and Videos Discovered</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/cancelled-the-dark-knight-game-adaptations-pre-production-files-and-videos-discovered</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joelle Daniels]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:36:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[batman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[monolith productions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Dark Knight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Games]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=634800</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The files, meant for internal use to document milestones, reveal what Monolith Productions was working on between 2009 and 2010.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A video game adaptation of Christopher Nolan’s critically-acclaimed film <em>The Dark Knight</em> was in the works at eventual <em>Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor</em> developer Monolith. Dubbed <em>Project Apollo</em>, the project would eventually be cancelled. While the game might never see the light of day, documents and videos from the pre-production phase of <em>Project Apollo</em> have been discovered on deleted sectors of an old hard drive from the studio. These files have been <a href="https://archive.org/details/project-apollo-documents-and-videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">uploaded to the Internet Archive</a> for the sake of preservation, and amount to almost a gigabyte worth of data.</p>
<p>The materials have been noted as being dated between April 2009 and January 2010. Since they were found in the deleted sectors, the uploader, MrTalida, has also noted that there are also plenty of incomplete files that had been overwritten by other, more recent files. As such, the uploader warns viewers about potential corruption in the video files, with some having loud audio that is essentially made up of garbage data.</p>
<p>The uploader has also noted that the files are largely consistent of things made for internal use, including demonstration videos, development schedules, and design documents for gameplay, art, and technical aspects. Ultimately, while far from being a complete look at how <em>Project Apollo</em> would have shaped up, they offer insights into its early development.</p>
<p>Among the noteworthy features showcased in the demonstration videos included dynamic audio systems that could change the background score depending on the gameplay. Notably, the music in this demonstration is right out of the Hans Zimmer-composed original soundtrack for <em>The Dark Knight</em>. Other examples of the project&#8217;s complex audio systems show off how sounds would change depending on Batman&#8217;s position in the game&#8217;s vertical axis, seamlessly transitioning from road-level audio to the sound of wind as Batman scales up a skyscraper.</p>
<p>There are plenty of video files also showcasing the studio’s work on the visuals of <em>Project Apollo</em>, including the physics for Batman’s cape, and how the game&#8217;s facial expressions for its various characters would look. On the gameplay side of things, we get to see stealth takedowns, and even some melee combat. The title was also slated to feature vehicle segments where players would take control of the Tumbler. A video shows off the driving physics for the vehicle as it rides through an early prototype of a level filled with blocky, untextured assets.</p>
<p>Movies getting released alongside video game adaptations were quite commonplace in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. While many of these tended to be little more than low-quality cash-grabs that were made as part of a movie’s marketing budget, some would end up being quite interesting to check out. Among these was 2005 action adventure title <em>Batman Begins</em>. As you might guess, it was based on the first movie of what would eventually be known as Christopher Nolan’s <em>The Dark Knight</em> trilogy. While the title was largely seen at the time as being better than the average adaptation, it was also the first time we would see a <em>Batman</em> game that makes use of both stealth and action elements. These aspects would define Rocksteady’s own <em>Batman: Arkham</em> series.</p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcba7qjnv22v" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreihdeffhrjfir6ccjqiev6dlwl2d4t3kvelvnmqsmewoos22rzyhom">
<p lang="en">There&#39;s feature demo videos, production schedules, game design docs, concept art, &amp; more. These materials help us better understand what product the team at Monolith was attempting to make with Apollo, and what challenges and decisions they faced early in development.archive.org/details/proj&#8230; 2/9</p>
<p>&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf?ref_src=embed">MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/post/3mcba7qjnv22v?ref_src=embed">2026-01-12T23:50:49.436Z</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcbadrp5ek2v" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreibbfrf43dkmjp3jjh3xfl47ac3qdty6umsitnzgj7o5qrtysxor4e">
<p lang="en">A variety of early development videos demonstrate dynamic audio systems that would react to the player&#39;s situation and smoothly transition music.  It&#39;s the sort of thing that makes a world of difference but we rarely consciously notice! 4/9</p>
<p>&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf?ref_src=embed">MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/post/3mcbadrp5ek2v?ref_src=embed">2026-01-12T23:53:04.882Z</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcbakklys22v" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreid5grdhd4pg6dydqwzw32x5gnywopcwrl4epwvoigqfrljnr6hmiq">
<p lang="en">More early Project Apollo audio systems videos.  This one shows how audio changes with Batman&#39;s vertical position.6/9</p>
<p>&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf?ref_src=embed">MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/post/3mcbakklys22v?ref_src=embed">2026-01-12T23:56:52.321Z</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcbarjhmpc2v" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreif53fehp5rm3zlse6mx5ud4hswwgzixzfbpffoajokhaf7msyna7a">
<p lang="en">Here&#39;s a series of videos showing various game mechanics at play, like completing a quest, knocking an enemy out, throwing smoke bombs, basic combat, and AI navigation.  Again, this is very, very early stuff.8/9</p>
<p>&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf?ref_src=embed">MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/post/3mcbarjhmpc2v?ref_src=embed">2026-01-13T00:00:46.010Z</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcbatx32gk2v" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreidyqklm2io4hbu6dko46a2ktvnrmmlkewy32vzgkfrg6ndcpx2yxa">
<p lang="en">Lastly, here&#39;s a series of videos showing the progress Monolith had made on the tumbler batmobile sections.  AFAIK, the previous leak didn&#39;t show any tumbler footage, so this may be our first peek.You can see how the feature progressed from Oct 2009, to Nov 2009, to Jan 2010.Enjoy the files!9/9</p>
<p>&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf?ref_src=embed">MrTalida (@mrtalida.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ozbdmak67oao253ndqc7qqlf/post/3mcbatx32gk2v?ref_src=embed">2026-01-13T00:02:07.387Z</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
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		<title>Warner Bros. Discovery Has Announced It&#8217;s Looking For a Buyer</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/warner-bros-discovery-has-announced-that-it-is-looking-for-a-buyer-for-the-entire-company</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joelle Daniels]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2025 15:42:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Discovery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wb games]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=630293</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[While there is no concrete timetable for this so far, this will also likely end up having major effects on Warner Bros' gaming business.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The parent company of Warner Bros. Games – Warner Bros. Discovery – has <a href="https://www.wbd.com/news/warner-bros-discovery-initiates-review-potential-alternatives-maximize-shareholder-value" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it has kicked off an initiative that will allow it to maximise shareholder. What this essentially means is that the company is looking for a new buyer. Along with this, the company is also continuing with its planned separation of Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, which is slated to be completed by mid-2026.</p>
<p>President and CEO David Zaslav said in the announcement that this decision was made in order to allow the company to “succeed in today’s evolving media landscape by advancing our strategic initiatives, returning our studios to industry leadership, and scaling HBO Max globally.”</p>
<p>“We took the bold step of preparing to separate the Company into two distinct, leading media companies, Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, because we strongly believed this was the best path forward,” he continued, going on to note that there has been “increased recognition by others in the market” in the Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s no surprise that the significant value of our portfolio is receiving increased recognition by others in the market,” he said. “After receiving interest from multiple parties, we have initiated a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to identify the best path forward to unlock the full value of our assets.&#8221;</p>
<p>It is worth noting that, while the announcement largely talks about the various media companies and film and TV production studios under the Warner Bros. Discovery banner, it is also bound to have major effects on the company’s gaming businesses as well. Among the companies owned by the company are <em>Mortal Kombat</em> and <em>Injustice</em> developer NetherRealm Studios, <em>Hogwarts Legacy</em> developer Avalanche Software, and <em>Batman: Arkham</em> series developer Rocksteady Studios.</p>
<p>If Warner Bros. Discovery ends up finding a buyer for its entire business, the gaming side of things will also be part of the transaction. This could ultimately lead to a variety of different things, from lay-offs affecting various developers, to studios even being entirely shut down if the buyer isn’t interested in continuing with video game development in-house.</p>
<p>Currently, Warner Bros. Discovery hasn’t defined a set timetable for the review process of these strategic alternatives. The financial advise for the company is being handled by Allen &amp; Company, J.P. Morgan, and Evercore.</p>
<p>“Other than the separation transaction that is already underway, there can be no assurance that this process will result in the Company pursuing a transaction or other outcome,” said the company in its announcement. “Warner Bros. Discovery does not intend to make any further announcements regarding the review of strategic alternatives unless and until the Board approves a specific transaction or otherwise determines further disclosure is appropriate or necessary.”</p>
<p>While Warner Bros. Discovery might have been facing problems in its film and TV businesses, the company had also reported back in May that revenue from its gaming businesses had fallen as well. Reports at the time indicated that this fall of revenue, <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/warner-bros-reports-48-percent-fall-in-revenue-from-games-in-latest-quarterly-earnings">measuring at around 48 percent</a>, can be attributed to the commercial failure of <em>Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League</em>.</p>
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		<title>DC Studios Co-CEO Says Big Games Are in the Works, &#8220;But it Does Take Time&#8221;</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/dc-studios-co-ceo-says-big-games-are-in-the-works-but-it-does-take-time</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joelle Daniels]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2025 13:29:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DC Studios]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[warner bros.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wb games]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=626575</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[While co-CEO James Gunn didn't provide any concrete details about new titles, he did indicate that these sorts of things take time.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>While Warner Bros. hasn’t been doing too well with its gaming divisions as of late, co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn has said that the company is preparing for a major push in the industry. However, he also noted that this push will take some time to fully materialise. In an interview with <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-tv-shows/after-years-of-silence-dc-boss-james-gunn-teases-dcus-gaming-plans-theres-one-thing-in-particular-im-excited-about-but-it-does-take-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GamesRadar</a>, Gunn spoke about the future of DC Studios and how he plans on expanding the DC universe in video games as well.</p>
<p>In the interview, Gunn acknowledged that there are some smaller-scale DC titles coming out – likely referring to games like the recently-unveiled <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knight-video-showcases-a-full-level-against-the-red-hood-gang"><em>LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight</em></a> – but there are also bigger things in the works.</p>
<p>“There&#8217;s been some slight movement on different things,&#8221; Gunn said. &#8220;We have a couple of little DC games coming out. But we also have talked about – and in early stages of planning – some bigger things. One thing in particular I&#8217;m excited about, but it does take time. There&#8217;s been some changes in Warner Bros. Games, and so we&#8217;re dealing with new people.”</p>
<p>While what this means might be unclear, Gunn is likely referring to a lengthy process that likely involves not only just purely game development, but also other aspects of the business, like getting the right kind of pitches and finding the right studios to work on a particular style of game. As for what the bigger things that WB Games has in store for the future might entail, we can only hope that it isn’t another stab at live-service games like the infamous <em>Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League</em>.</p>
<p>Gunn, along with co-CEO Peter Safran, had previously spoken similarly about how bigger games that take place in the DC universe will take time, and that it will likely be a while before players get to play the next big game.</p>
<p>“We see designs for the projects in their very earliest stages,” Gunn said back in February, <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/itll-be-a-couple-years-before-we-see-the-first-dcu-video-game-james-gunn-says-but-first-fortnite" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to IGN</a>. “We talk about those. We talk about when they&#8217;re talking about what the story might be, we say, ‘Well, maybe you want to go this way because we&#8217;re planning on maybe doing something with this character and so forth and so on,’ and help to deal with that.”</p>
<p>Back in May, Warner Bros. had revealed through its quarterly earnings report at the time that its gaming division had seen <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/warner-bros-reports-48-percent-fall-in-revenue-from-games-in-latest-quarterly-earnings">revenue fall by 48 percent</a>. This fall could likely be attributed to games like <em>MultiVersus</em> and <em>Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League</em> failing commercially. In its earnings report, the company also cited that games like <em>Mortal Kombat 1</em> and <em>Hogwarts Legacy</em> continued to do well. It is worth noting that these revenue figures account for a three-month period ending on March 31, 2025.</p>
<p>The gaming division at Warner Bros. has been going through some rough things. Back in January, president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, David Haddad, had <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/warner-bros-interactive-entertainment-president-david-haddad-is-stepping-down">announced that he was stepping down</a> from his role.</p>
<p>Back in July, some job listings had popped up that indicated that Warner Bros. <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/new-dc-comics-based-live-service-game-is-in-development-according-to-wb-games-job-listing">might be working on a new live-service game set in the DC universe</a>. Details, however, have been scarce.</p>
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		<title>Assassin&#8217;s Creed Shadows Tops Best Selling Games Charts in Europe for 2025 Releases</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/assassins-creed-shadows-tops-best-selling-games-charts-in-europe-for-2025-releases</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joelle Daniels]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Aug 2025 16:18:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2k games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activision Blizzard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Assassin's Creed Shadows]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bandai namco]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[battlefield 1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bethesda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Call of Duty: Black Ops]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[EA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[f1 25]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Grand Theft Auto 5]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Hogwarts Legacy]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Kingdom Come: Deliverance]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Games]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=626164</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Assassin's Creed Shadows has beaten out other 2025 releases like Monster Hunter Wilds and Mario Kart World in European sales.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>While 2025 has been a great year for video games thanks to numerous releases and even a new console so far, it looks like <em>Assassin’s Creed Shadows</em> is leading the charts in Europe when it comes to sales for games released this year. According to a report by <a href="https://www.thegamebusiness.com/p/assassins-creed-shadows-is-the-no1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Game Business</a>, Ubisoft’s open-world title has beaten out games like <em>Split Fiction</em>, <em>Monster Hunter Wilds</em>, <em>Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2</em>, and <em>Mario Kart World</em> to lead the charts for 2025 releases.</p>
<p>According to the report, there have been a total of 71 million games sold in 2025 across PC and consoles in Europe, which marks a 6 percent drop over the same period from 2024. This data accounts for sales having taken place up to July 28. Of the 71 million game sales, 52 million were digital copies, while 19.7 million were physical copies. These are 3 percent and 9 percent reductions over the previous year, and around 74 percent of games sold this year in Europe have been digital, which, when it comes to percentages, is a 2 percent rise from 2024.</p>
<p>The best-selling game in Europe in 2025 has been <em>EA Sports FC 25</em>. The title was released back in 2024, and taking it into account, <em>Assassin’s Creed Shadows</em> currently sits in the number 2 spot for game sales overall in Europe across PC and consoles. The top 20 sales chart, which you can check out below, also include other games released this year, including <em>The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered</em>, <em>Elden Ring: Nightreign</em>, and Nintendo Switch 2 launch title <em>Mario Kart World</em>. It is worth noting that digital sales data for Nintendo games hasn’t been revealed.</p>
<p>The data, coming from official European charts company GSD, also interestingly omits <em>Clair Obscur: Expedition 3</em>3. It was noted as being missing because publisher Kepler Interactive hasn’t shared sales data for the game with GSD. An analyst from GSD, Sam Naji, also revealed some details about how game spending has changed for PC and consoles over the year.</p>
<p>In his analysis, Naji said that the first 19 weeks of 2025 saw spending drop by 2 percent compared to 2024, down to €1.33 billion, while the number of copies sold dropped by 9 percent. He attributed this to the average price of games having gone up by around 8 percent, with gamers spending an average of €29 per game, when compared to 2024’s average of €27 per game. He also noted that digital spending had gone up by 8 percent compared to a 6 percent drop in number of units sold, attributing it to a 15 percent rise in average price for digital games – €22 to €25 per game.</p>
<p>Best Selling Games in Europe for 2025 Across PC and Consoles:</p>
<ol>
<li><em>EA Sports FC 25 (EA)</em></li>
<li><em>Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Ubisoft)</em></li>
<li><em>Grand Theft Auto 5 (Rockstar)</em></li>
<li><em>Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar)</em></li>
<li><em>Hogwarts Legacy (Warner Bros)</em></li>
<li><em>Split Fiction (EA)</em></li>
<li><em>Monster Hunter Wilds (Capcom)</em></li>
<li><em>Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Activision Blizzard)</em></li>
<li><em>Mario Kart World (Nintendo)</em></li>
<li><em>Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (Plaion)</em></li>
<li><em>The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered (Bethesda)</em></li>
<li><em>Star Wars Battlefront 2 (EA)</em></li>
<li><em>Elden Ring: Nightreign (Bandai Namco)</em></li>
<li><em>It Takes Two (EA)</em></li>
<li><em>Grand Theft Auto Online (Rockstar)</em></li>
<li><em>NBA 2K25 (2K Games)</em></li>
<li><em>F1 25 (EA)</em></li>
<li><em>Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft)</em></li>
<li><em>Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Nintendo)</em></li>
<li><em>Battlefield 1 (EA)</em></li>
</ol>
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		<title>Game of Thrones: War for Westeros is a New Real-Time Strategy Game Coming to PC in 2026</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/game-of-thrones-war-for-westeros-is-a-new-real-time-strategy-game-coming-to-pc-in-2026</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joelle Daniels]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jun 2025 21:33:31 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Game of Thrones: War for Westeros]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PlaySide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Games]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=621316</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The newest take on the Game of Thrones setting really emphasises the fact that players can change the story's course with their actions.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Developer PlaySide, along with Warner Bros. Games has unveiled a new game set in the <em>Game of Thrones</em> universe. This time around, it is a real-time strategy game, titled <em>Game of Thrones: War for Westeros</em>. The title was announced with a trailer during Summer Games Fest 2025, which you can check out below.</p>
<p>While we didn’t get to see any gameplay in the trailer, there was quite a bit of emphasis of putting the power of the <em>Game of Thrones</em> narrative in the player’s hand. The trailer featured quite a few epic battles, among them being the Night King going one-on-one against Jon Snow. The Night King comes out as the victor, turning Jon Snow into yet another White Walker for his armies.</p>
<p>While the number of available factions is currently unknown, the trailer indicates that the White Walkers, the Night’s Watch, and Daenerys’ armies will be at least some of the playable options in the game.</p>
<p><em>Game of Thrones: War for Westeros</em> is being developed for PC, and is slated for release some time in 2026.</p>
<p><iframe title="Game of Thrones: War for Westeros | Cinematic Reveal Trailer (Summer Game Fest)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uI9MDe0evFU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
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		<title>WB Games Will Release a New &#8220;Unannounced IP Game&#8221; in 2025 &#8211; Rumour</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/wb-games-will-release-a-new-unannounced-ip-game-in-2025-rumour</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joelle Daniels]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Apr 2025 13:41:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rumors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[warner bros.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Warner Bros. Games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WB Games Boston]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=616485</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This comes shortly after Warner Bros. shut down quite a few of its studios, including Monolith Productions and Player First Games.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>While the in-development <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/wonder-woman-comic-writer-praises-monolith-productions-warner-bros-despite-cancellation"><em>Wonder Woman</em> game</a> at Monolith was cancelled in light of the studio&#8217;s closure back in February, it looks like Warner Bros. Games is now gearing up to release a new game. Spotted by social media platform X user Timur222, the <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonmaraia/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn profile</a> for WB Games Boston&#8217;s Brandon Maraia indicates a new game is being worked on, and will be out later this year.</p>
<p>While not too many details have become clear through Maraia&#8217;s profile so far, the fact that the game is slated for a 2025 release means that it has likely been under development for multiple years already. Maraia has been working as the Game Design Lead for this title for two years so far. Maraia has also listed various aspects of the game that he was in charge of, including the first-time user experience, narrative, quests, and player customisation.</p>
<p>It is worth noting that the description just indicates that it is a new game with an unannounced IP. This likely means that the title is part of a pre-existing IP, and will be an adaptation of one of several properties owned by Warner Bros. Were it a fresh game in a brand new franchise, the wording would have likely better accentuated this fact.</p>
<p>Alongside Monolith, Warner Bros. had <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/wonder-woman-cancelled-monolith-shutting-down-alongside-player-first-games-and-wb-games-san-diego">announced the closure of quite a few studios</a> earlier this year, including MultiVersus developer Player First Games, as well as WB Games San Diego. The company said that the decision to close these studios was made with &#8220;careful consideration.&#8221;</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/warner-bros-games-plans-for-2025-involves-tentpole-franchises-like-hogwarts-legacy-mortal-kombat">letter to its shareholders last month</a>, Warner Bros. spoke about the plan going forward for its game development studios under the WB Games banner would be to focus more on making games based on &#8220;proven IP and games from proven, world-class studios.&#8221;</p>
<p>The letter echoed <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/wb-games-says-it-is-focusing-efforts-on-mortal-kombat-hogwarts-legacy-game-of-thrones-and-batman">statements made by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav</a>, who spoke about focusing efforts on the four major IPs owned by the company: <em>Mortal Kombat</em>, <em>Hogwarts Legacy</em>, <em>Game of Thrones</em>, and <em>Batman.</em></p>
<p>&#8220;We’re through some of the worst — and it hasn’t been pretty on the gaming business — but we have four games that are really powerful and have a real constituency that love them, and we’re going to focus on those four primarily,&#8221; said Zaslav back in November. &#8220;We’re going to go away from trying to launch 10, 12, 15, 20 different games. I think we have a real chance now with focus to have the gaming business be steadier.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;We have four strong and profitable game franchises with loyal, global fans: <em>Hogwarts Legacy</em>, <em>Mortal Kombat</em>, <em>Game of Thrones</em>, and DC, in particular <em>Batman.</em> We are focusing our development efforts on those core franchises, with proven studios to improve our success ratio.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Monolith Productions has been shut down, former executive from WB Games, Laura Fryer, revealed a few <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-was-created-from-the-ashes-of-cancelled-nolan-verse-batman-game-former-wb-games-exec">details about her time working with the studio</a> as it launched titles like <em>Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor</em>. In a lengthy video, Fryer revealed quite a few details, including the fact that the game&#8217;s much-loved Nemesis system came about because the studio didn&#8217;t want players to be &#8220;done&#8221; with a game and then sell it off to someone else.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Warner Bros Games is working on a new unannounced IP, launching in 2025 <a href="https://t.co/msrpETmHXh">pic.twitter.com/msrpETmHXh</a></p>
<p>— Timur222 (@bogorad222) <a href="https://twitter.com/bogorad222/status/1909871298517360983?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
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		<title>Despite Some Bright Spots, Triple-A Gaming is in Dire Need of a Revolution</title>
		<link>https://gamingbolt.com/despite-some-bright-spots-triple-a-gaming-is-in-dire-need-of-a-revolution</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ravi Sinha]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:42:10 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Article]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Editorials]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://gamingbolt.com/?p=613149</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The triple-A game bubble has never looked more tenuous, with multiple layoffs, studio closures, big-budget failures, and more.]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="bigchar">O</span>ver the past few years, the triple-A games industry has been, to put it lightly, a mess. Ironically, it all came to a head in what many considered the best year for video games—2023. Even with so many big-name titles and successes, from <em>The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</em> and <em>Super Mario Bros. Wonder</em> to <em>Baldur&#8217;s Gate 3</em> and <em>Marvel&#8217;s Spider-Man 2</em>, the year saw over 9,000 layoffs. This would roll into 2024 when almost 15,000 layoffs occurred.</p>
<p>It was also a year that saw multiple studios shuttered. Even after acquiring Activision Blizzard and becoming one of the biggest game publishers in the world, commanding a venerable army of IPs, Microsoft shut down Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, and Alpha Dog Games. Sony wasn&#8217;t too far behind, shuttering its London Studio, Deviation Games, and – most infamously – Firewalk Studios in the wake of one of the biggest first-party failures of all time – <em>Concord</em>.</p>
<p><a href="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wonder-Woman-image.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-502598" src="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wonder-Woman-image.jpg" alt="Wonder Woman image" width="720" height="405" srcset="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wonder-Woman-image.jpg 1920w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wonder-Woman-image-300x169.jpg 300w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wonder-Woman-image-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wonder-Woman-image-15x8.jpg 15w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wonder-Woman-image-768x432.jpg 768w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wonder-Woman-image-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></a></p>
<p>Then we arrive in 2025 with Warner Bros. Games closing down Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego. Many saw the writing on the wall for some major changes at the company – look no further than mounting losses and failures through the years for WB Discovery as a whole – but few expected Monolith, one of the most respected developers of all time, to die out.</p>
<p>On the gaming front, there is so much to dissect as well. Despite the low chances of success and seeking some form of recurring revenue, live-service titles continue to be released before crashing and burning. <em>Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League</em> is one example, impacting Warner Bros.&#8217;s revenue by $200 million. Tack on MultiVersus, which contributed another $100 million impact. It&#8217;s rumored that the failure of both titles spurred the cancellation of Wonder Woman, a title that was soft-rebooted last year and already surpassed $100 million in its budget.</p>
<p>Live service is a gamble, and for every <em>Helldivers 2</em> that becomes a success, there are others cancelled before they can even make it out of the door. Sony can attest to this, from pushing an initiative to have a dozen live service titles before April 2026 to cancelling projects from Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games, <em>The Last of Us Online</em>, London Studio&#8217;s fantasy action RPG, and the rumored <em>Twisted Metal</em> reboot.</p>
<p>Then you have the likes of Ubisoft, whose trend-chasing and numerous failures eventually caught up to it, resulting in the cancellation of several unannounced projects, the end of service for games like <em>XDefiant</em>, layoffs, and the closure of studios like San Francisco. The company is also seemingly cursed on the single-player front – high-profile games like <em>Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora</em> and <em>Star Wars Outlaws</em> underperformed, critically and commercially.</p>
<p>Even a well-reviewed game like <em>Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown</em> struggled with sales to the extent that a sequel pitch was reportedly denied, and the team broke up for other projects. Perhaps the most surprising thing is that Skull and Bones, the company&#8217;s first quadruple-A title, perseveres.</p>
<p><a href="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dragon-age-the-veilguard-image-3-2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-590233" src="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dragon-age-the-veilguard-image-3-2.jpg" alt="dragon age the veilguard" width="720" height="405" srcset="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dragon-age-the-veilguard-image-3-2.jpg 1920w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dragon-age-the-veilguard-image-3-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dragon-age-the-veilguard-image-3-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dragon-age-the-veilguard-image-3-2-15x8.jpg 15w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dragon-age-the-veilguard-image-3-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dragon-age-the-veilguard-image-3-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></a></p>
<p>Let&#8217;s not forget about Electronic Arts. <em>EA Sports FC 25</em> underperformed to a significant degree, and <em>Dragon Age: The Veilguard</em> fell massively short of expectations. Remember how the next <em>Dragon Age</em> was to be a live-service title, but subsequently rebooted, the remains patched together into a single-player game? Whatever you may think about the results, fans were far from impressed. And with many team members either leaving the company or reassigned, first temporarily and now permanently to other EA projects, the BioWare of the past is looking even less like itself than ever before.</p>
<p>Mismanagement has often been reported as a major reason for development troubles and gross overspending on video game budgets. But surely those developers could go on and start their own studios, away from corporate meddling, right? Not necessarily.</p>
<p>Former BioWare head Casey Hudson&#8217;s Humanoid Origin was founded three years ago and shut down last November due to an “unexpected shortfall of funding.” Phoenix Labs, formed by former Riot Games developers, saw its Monster Hunter-like Dauntless go through one terrible phase after another (including acquisition by a blockchain company). Months after its most-hated update yet, it&#8217;s shutting down this May.</p>
<p>Of course, it&#8217;s not like a successful project means job security. Even after the breakout success of <em>Marvel Rivals</em>, with over 40 million players and more than $200 million in revenue, NetEase Games still shut down its US-based development team. There&#8217;s also the whole upheaval with the company&#8217;s international studios and investments, affecting the likes of <em>Yakuza</em> creator Toshihiro Nagoshi&#8217;s new studio, among many others. But that&#8217;s another story altogether.</p>
<p><a href="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/marvel-rivals-image.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-589149" src="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/marvel-rivals-image.jpg" alt="marvel rivals" width="720" height="405" srcset="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/marvel-rivals-image.jpg 1920w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/marvel-rivals-image-300x169.jpg 300w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/marvel-rivals-image-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/marvel-rivals-image-15x8.jpg 15w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/marvel-rivals-image-768x432.jpg 768w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/marvel-rivals-image-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></a></p>
<p>What exactly is happening? Is it because the industry couldn&#8217;t keep up with the accelerated growth from the pandemic? Is history simply catching up to a medium that has seen nothing but sustained growth over extended periods? New consoles are introduced, promising to push the graphical envelope, and the jumps in visual fidelity are more incremental than ever. That hasn&#8217;t stopped video game budgets from ballooning to absurd proportions, like the $315 million spent on <em>Marvel&#8217;s Spider-Man 2.</em></p>
<p>There are so many factors to consider, but one thing remains true: Triple-A gaming doesn&#8217;t garner the same amount of prestige it once did. If anything, it&#8217;s considered more of a meme than a representation of actual quality.</p>
<p>How many triple-A games from major publishers have launched with performance problems, bugs, glitches, or game-breaking issues? Inflation may be something that video game prices have avoided throughout the past many years, but that hasn&#8217;t stopped some companies from stuffing microtransactions into their games. With more titles embracing a $70 pricing structure, it&#8217;s the classic case of video game publishers having their cake, eating it, and then charging you for the candles after crashing the part and forgetting it&#8217;s your birthday.</p>
<p>There are still potential bright spots, as seen with developers like Larian Studios, which are pushing forward with even more ambitious projects while commanding an immense amount of goodwill. <em>Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2</em> also turned out to be a major success.</p>
<p><a href="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/split-fiction.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-611570" src="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/split-fiction.jpg" alt="split fiction" width="720" height="405" srcset="https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/split-fiction.jpg 1920w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/split-fiction-300x169.jpg 300w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/split-fiction-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/split-fiction-15x8.jpg 15w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/split-fiction-768x432.jpg 768w, https://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/split-fiction-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></a></p>
<p>Josef Fares continues to unabashedly bash the industry&#8217;s practices while basking in the continued success of <em>It Takes Two</em> and the hype for <em>Split Fiction</em>. <em>Avowed</em> may not be a multi-million seller, yet it&#8217;s still a success for the developer, which is more than it can ask for after six years of development and two reboots.</p>
<p>FromSoftware may be embarking on a new multiplayer journey with <em>Elden Ring: Nightreign</em> but is doing so off the back of universal acclaim and tens of millions of sales for the original game. We don&#8217;t have to mention the continued success of <em>Monster Hunter</em>, with nearly 1.4 million peak concurrent players on Steam for <em>Wilds</em> or its developer&#8217;s bright outlook. Nintendo also continues to prosper while bucking the need for graphical supremacy, delivering hit after hit even in its leanest year yet and with the Switch 2 poised to break records.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s still no denying that triple-A games development is in dire need of change. Whether it&#8217;s a gradual process that needs to come from the top or forced by the current state of the world, it simply can&#8217;t thrive off gambling and trend-chasing, much less destroying studios to cover up losses.</p>
<p><em>Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.</em></p>
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