Suiꩵcide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been delayed yet again. Originally slated fo🤡r a 2022 release, it was eventually pushed back to May 26, 2023. This week, Bloomberg that Rocksteady plans to delay release until sometime later this year.
The original headline of Bloomberg’s article, which has since been changed, was Warner Bros. Delays ‘Suicide Squad’ Game Again After Fan Backlash. This is merely a statement of fact. Suicide Squad gameplay was revealed in a PlayStation showcase last month, there was backlash to what was shown, and now, the game is being delayed. These are things that happened sequentially, as events bound by the constraints of linear time typically do, and there’s nothing in the report that suggests a cause and effect. That framing of that original headline may suggest otherwise, and many outlets have run headlines with simꦓilar angles. Before everyone gets their hopes up that Rocksteady is going to use the extra time to address criticisms, let’s take a second to think about how games ꧂are made.
Games get delayed all the time, especially when they’re just a few months out from their release date. Every game is developed on a timeline, and as you get closer to finishing it becomes easier to determine exactly how much time you actually need. As is often the case, studios and publishers will decide that a few extra months to squash bugs, polish graphics, and fine tune balance - things that always happen at the end of a development cycle🌱 - could make the difference between a lukewarm and positive reception. It’s common, and at this point, practically acceptable, for a game to launch in a broken state and get fixed over time. But first impressions are still important, especially when there’s so much competitionꦛ in the triple-A space, so if a few months will equal a couple of extra points on Metacritic, most publishers are willing to do that.
That’s not to say tha💦t the backlash wasn’t a factor. It’s likely that the negative reception was a factor in deciding to delay the game, but not in the way many are thinking. It’s reasonable to assume that Rocksteady asked Warner Bros. for a bit more time, and, seeing the negativity around the reveal, WB decided it was worth taking the time to shore things up now that people are actively rooting against the game succeeding. Suicide Squad has an uphill b✱attle and everyone knows it, so perfecting it’s systems and performance is going to be essential to winning over skeptical fans.
That does not mean that Rocksteady is go𝔉ing to spend the next eight months ripping out multiplayer, deleting the battle pass, getting rid of the loot grind, or making fundamental changes to the combat. Whenever Suicide Squad eventually comes out, we’re still going to farm legendary sniper rifles with our friends to shoot a million purple blisters. To think any of that can change at this stage of development betrays a ludicrously poor understanding of what it takes to make a video game.
I’ll cut everyone some slack for coping though. This is not what I wanted from the house of Arkham City either, and nothing would make me happier than to find out it was all an early April Fool’s joke and the real Suicide Squad will be revealed at a later date. Fans have been given a lot of power over the content we consume too, and it’s not unheard of to🐽 see backlash lead to big changes. Fans got Bioware to rewrite the end of Mass Effect. Fans got Paramount to reanimate the entire Sonic the Hedgehog movie. If we cry hard enough, maybe we can get Rocksteady to unfuck Suicide Squad too, right?
I’m sorry everybꦉody, it’s just not going to happen. The best case scenario is that the delay will give Rocksteady time to make this version of Suicide Squad the best it can be, even though it isn’t the game we were hoping for. Who knows, maybe this will be the first always-online multiplayer live service third-person action Superhero gam🔯e to get it right.