If there's a unanimous sentiment between aficionados of the Arkham series and Warner Bros., it's the shared letdown over the Suicide Squad game. The game stumbled in its attempt to produce profits and in reviving the essence that made the preceding Arkham titles captivating, which led to speculation about its intended audience.
It turns out that the game wasn't squarely targeted at any particular group, as the scant proceeds from its release led to a staggering $200 million dent in earnings prior to deductions such as interest, taxes, and amortization. Warner's CFO Gunnar Widenfels elaborated:
Discussing the performance of the Studios division, the dip surpassing $400 million compared to last year for the first quarter primarily originated from a tough match-up with the prior year's triumph of Hogwarts Legacy in the same timeframe. This was combined with the lackluster results of Suicide Squad in the current quarter, leading to a valuation write-down and a subsequent negative impact of $200 million on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for the first quarter.
The notion that Warner Bros. envisioned creating the same magnitude of financial achievement as Hogwarts Legacy experienced in the previous year seems far-fetched. Even with tempered expectations regarding revenue, the Suicide Squad title did not meet its targets. Despite this setback, Warner Bros. appears inclined to continue its investment in more live-service games.