Fans Said Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League Looked So Bad That WB Is Delaying It
An exclusive report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier has revealed that Rocksteady's "Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League" has been internally delayed once more, pushing the game's release date to an unknown time later in 2023. The game, which pits the titular team of baddies against the DCU's greatest heroes, was previously set for a May 23 release date.
Sony's most recent State of Play livestream gave fans a closer look at how the game will play, revealing that it's a live service title akin to "Destiny" or "Marvel's Avengers," complete with purchasable battle passes and cosmetics. Although fans have been looking forward to certain aspects of the game, including voice actor Kevin Conroy's final recorded performance as Batman, the latest gameplay previews have left a bad taste in many gamers' mouths. Fans who have been excited to play as their favorite supervillains suddenly became worried that "Kill the Justice League" is shaping up to be something decidedly different from what they loved in the dev's "Batman: Arkham" series. It's due to this negative fan backlash that Warner Bros. has decided to postpone the game's release, Schreier's sources claim.
The delay also makes sense from a business perspective, Schreier points out. Although DC Comics' characters are mega popular and the Suicide Squad is a particularly recognizable team/IP, the game's current official release date puts it up against some stiff competition. "This delay also moves Suicide Squad out of a crowded release window that currently includes new Zelda, Diablo, and Final Fantasy games," Schreier tweeted. In other words, this release date change could end up benefitting the game in the sales department.
Unfortunately for fans, other sources claim the delay is even worse than Schreier has reported.
Suicide Squad could be pushed to 2024
During a new episode of "Game Mess Decides," gaming journalist Jeff Grubb revealed that not only can he confirm the internal delay for "Suicide Squad," but he's heard the delay could put the game's release at some point in 2024.
"Listen, I don't wanna, like, cause a panic or anything, but I've heard it's not even coming this year," said Grubb. He added, "They're like, 'This is a delay-a** delay'. Like, this is a bigger delay than is even being put out there. We'll see. That stuff is hard to nail down for sure. I'll say that this source has always been a very good one."
Grubb explained that he doesn't think Rocksteady will completely rework the game from the ground up. Despite titles like "Hogwarts Legacy" being delayed multiple times and still becoming a smash hit, he doesn't think Warner Bros. is looking at "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League" in the same way. However, he does believe that this significant delay could allow Rocksteady the time to polish the game and rethink its approach to the live service aspects.
Ultimately, Grubb argued that the recent gameplay trailers featured some fun elements, but the live service elements have overshadowed those bright spots in the public eye, which may concern WB. He said, "I think they know that what they have feels kind of rotten to most people ... It's just that then you see the big screens of Captain Boomerang with all the numbers and the loot and the big gun and the stupid look on his face ... if that is a significant portion of the game, maybe there's a way to rebalance and retool it, so it's like that stuff is lessened, it's maybe more streamlined."
Can a lengthy delay fix Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League?
As Jeff Grubb pointed out, fans shouldn't expect every issue to be fixed during the delay, as the game was developed with the live service model in mind. To totally reboot the game, Rocksteady would need a delay of a few years, and there's no way that Warner Bros. is willing to do that at this point. Jason Schreier's initial report concurred with this idea, noting that further time in the oven will most likely result in a better-working experience, but the final product will likely retain many of the elements that have turned fans off.
For what it's worth, a delay like this is mainly for polish, not to overhaul the core gameplay that caused the backlash. Suicide Squad started off as a Game as a Service and will remain one short of a complete reboot, which would require a much longer delay
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) March 9, 2023
News of the delay has caused a stir in the gaming community, with fans who were looking forward to the game feeling let down and folks who were suspicious of the game feeling almost vindicated by WB's decision. Some fans even humorously compared the title's troubles to those of another ever-delayed title, Ubisoft's "Skull and Bones."
Skull and Bones and Suicide Squad fighting to see who gets to not release the hardest pic.twitter.com/pZa2gp4Qvi
— Tetsuya Takahashi i kneel (@Swol_Radguy) March 9, 2023
Warner Bros. has yet to release an official statement regarding these delay rumors. Only time will tell if DC's "worst heroes ever" will get a game that lives up to the hype.