Well, here we are again.
A beloved studio closed.
A mobile offshoot chucked on the fire.
A scattered, opportunistic attempt at brand synergy binned off after one attempt.
It’s time to start searching for answers.
What have we got, folks?
Well, there was Covid wasn’t there, that was a tricky one.
And nowthe seemingly endless flow of money from China’s looking like it’s about to dry up too.
That definitely counts as a headwind, right?
It does, of course.
But they’re also affecting everyone, and not everyone has had the decadeWarner Bros. Gameshas just had.
For one, those problems started first.
The list of issues here is a long one.
Six months later, after plenty of predictable outcry, they were removed from the game entirely.
In late 2023 David Zaslav, Warner Bros.
The issues go on.
Only one without Batman - and with live-service elements.
Finally, there are the other two closed studios, in Player First Games and Warner Bros. San Diego.
The usual sanctimonious chiding from yours truly is appropriate here, of course.
Overdiscussed as they are at this point, these are true, and will remain true.
But it also feels appropriate to say something a bit more than that.
These decisions come from people whose job it is to make good decisions.
And these decisions are bad.
Therein lies the real crux of it.
- and equally massive, hit factory developers.
But still something about it rankles.
The existence of completed games in themselves, as the cliche goes, is a miracle.
Mistakes, believe it or not, are fine.
And some solutions are right in front of you.
Plan for the long term.
Treat experience, even of failure -especiallyof failure - like an asset in itself.
Understand the things these people make, and why they choose to make them.
These are the basics, and we should start there.
And systemic issues are real.
