Warner Bros. have announced the closure of three of its development studios, Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego. This wave of shutdowns brings an end to projects in progress, including Monolith’s Wonder Woman game, which had been in development for over two years.
Meanwhile, other Warner Bros. studios like NetherRealm, TT Games, and Rocksteady have managed to weather the storm, the loss of Monolith stings particularly hard, given its legacy of crafting iconic titles such as Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, alongside earlier hits like F.E.A.R. and Condemned.
With 31 years of history, Monolith’s closure adds to a growing list of studio shutdowns in an industry grappling with bloated budgets, prolonged development cycles, and a string of commercial disappointments.
Speaking on the studio closures, a Warner Bros. spokesperson provided the following statement:
“We have 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. After careful consideration, we are closing three of our development studios – Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and Warner Bros. Games San Diego. This is a strategic change in direction and not a reflection of these teams or the talent that consists within them.”
“The development of Monolith’s Wonder Woman video game will not move forward. Our hope was to give players and fans the highest quality experience possible for the iconic character, and unfortunately this is no longer possible within our strategic priorities. This is another tough decision, as we recognize Monolith’s storied history of delivering epic fan experiences through amazing games. 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 and developed by our world-class studios and getting our Games business back to profitability and growth in 2025 and beyond.”
The closure of Monolith Productions signals yet another high-profile studio lost to the ongoing industry-wide turmoil. Game development has reached a breaking point where production timelines extend beyond a decade, budgets soar into the hundreds of millions, and releases increasingly arrive in broken, unfinished states.
More significantly, the industry has faced backlash as studios prioritize ESG mandates, diversity quotas, and DEI initiatives over crafting compelling, polished games that resonate with the core gaming audience.
Recent failures such as Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad, EA’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and Sony’s Concord underscore the growing disconnect between modern game developers and their audiences. Titles designed to appeal to an ideological, non-existent player base have seen disastrous financial returns, causing massive layoffs and studio closures across the board.
In the wake of Monolith’s shutdown, Tanya DePass, a senior writer on the now-canceled Wonder Woman project, took to social media to vent her frustrations. DePass, an activist journalists somehow turned-game-developer with previous affiliations to VICE, Polygon, and the GaymerX consultancy group, issued an inflammatory response to the closure.
Her aggressive rhetoric mirrors similar sentiments from other activist developers who view criticism as an existential threat rather than legitimate consumer feedback. The gaming industry has become saturated with figures who prioritize ideological messaging over quality game design, leading to widespread consumer rejection.
The shift toward androgynous, racially inclusive character designs over traditional artistic appeal has turned many AAA titles into parodies of themselves.
Recent industry discourse echoes this frustration. Sam Winkler, lead writer for Borderlands 3, called gamers “bigots” for opposing DEI consultancy. Kolbe Payne, a level designer for the Perfect Dark reboot, declared “gamers were a mistake” while defending race swaps in games like Alan Wake 2 and God of War Ragnarok, a trend largely credited to consultancy firms such as Sweet Baby Inc.
Developers behind Sony’s Concord, a game heavily criticized from its announcement due to its unappealing and politically driven character designs, have also lashed out at gamers following the disastrous launch of Sony’s live-service shooter.
Amanda Kiefer, a senior concept artist openly stated in 2024 that “these weirdos” likely referring to gamers who dislike the game’s forced diversity and androgynous character designs “will soon have no games to buy at all,” a statement that feels more like a threat than anything else.
It reflects a broader industry shift where ideological agendas seem to take precedence over consumer interest and yet consumers are urged to continually invest and finance these products willingly or be judged by its developers and their allies in games journalism as racists and bigots.
This sentiment echoes other developers, such as Mary Kenney, formerly of Insomniac Games and now working on The Witcher IV at CD Projekt Red, who asserted that the industry must “pull every lever” for LGBT inclusivity in games. Her stance is backed by a flawed GLAAD survey claiming that LGBT representation in gaming is insubstantial and needs mending.
Similarly, Obsidian Entertainment’s Matt Hansen, addressing backlash over Avowed’s neopronoun options, admitted they were included “purely to make Elon Musk mad.” Hansen also criticized the gaming industry for being “full of crusty White dudes” and expressed a desire for their replacement by Black developers, implying racial discrimination in hiring practices.
Right: After GaymerX
Tanya DePass’s background adds another dimension to the discussion. As a diversity coordinator for GaymerX and a vocal advocate for inclusivity, she has previously pushed for changes in gaming culture, including controversial decisions such as modifying character depictions in Pokémon Go.
Her response to Monolith’s closure highlights a growing divide, where developers feel their creative visions are stifled by an audience they perceive as resistant to their ideology.
With the gaming industry in freefall, due to its ideological takeover, studios are suffering immense financial losses. Developers openly antagonize their own consumer base, producing games that prioritize diversity checklists over genuine artistry.
The result? Mass layoffs, closures, and the collapse of once-great studios like Monolith Productions.
The Nemesis system, patented by Warner Bros., risks being buried for years, another casualty of the industry’s self-inflicted downfall due entirely to no fault but developers like Tanya DePass at a loss with reality itself and the desires of gaming audiences but are instead thrusting their own ideology upon the masses while berating you for avoiding it.
As the industry barrels toward an inevitable crash, one thing is clear: audiences are rejecting the ideological stranglehold on gaming, and studios that refuse to adapt may not survive the reckoning.
