Summary
Rocksteady’sSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehas seen some very rough days since its February 2 launch. Beginning with a poor reception and then tapering off in the weeks that followed, things have rarely looked more than bleak for theBatman: Arkhamdeveloper’s once-anticipated IP. AsKill the Justice Leagueis a live-service game, its seasonal release structure could turn things around, and that may begin with Season 1 when it launches on March 28.
According to the official season roadmap,Suicide Squad:Kill the Justice League’s first season will introduce the Joker as a new playable character, two new story episodes featuring Two-Face and Scarecrow, new boss fights and enemy variants, a new playable environment, new DC villain-themed weapons and gear, new activities, and new Riddler content. Unfortunately, despite all this extra content being added to the game, it may not be enough, and it may be coming too late.
Kill the Justice League’s First Season May Not Be Enough
Most of Kill the Justice League’s Players Have Already Left the Game
As of now,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s Steam player countis less than 3% of its all-time peak of 13,459 players, which undoubtedly occurred at the time of its launch. While this isn’t the entirety ofKill the Justice League’s player base, as it doesn’t include those playing on console, it still predicates a grim future for the game. SinceKill the Justice Leaguewas built to be a live-service game and therefore an open-ended experience, the fact that so many players have left the game already could be an indication of where it is headed in terms of ongoing success.
To effectively bring players back,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis going to need to do more than simply add new content, as the main issue arguably lies in its overall structure and gameplay approach. It doesn’t take long inKill the Justice League’s endgamefor its activities to become too repetitive to merit repeating, and although there are a few benefits to completing everything it currently has to offer, it doesn’t change the arduous uphill climb required to get there. As such, the live-service game saw many players leave rather early on, and it seems like Season 1’s content might not be enough to bring them back.
The Timing of Kill the Justice League’s First Season Is Off
WithSuicide Squad:Kill the Justice League’s first seasonlaunching at the end of March and the game’s player count continuing to dwindle, even just a few weeks more can put the game on the brink of death. Perhaps it would have been more effective if Rocksteady had chosen to launch Season 1 at the beginning of March (or even at the end of February) to preserve what player base it had left. There’s alsoKill the Justice League’s competition to consider as well.
Team Ninja’sRise of the Roninand Capcom’sDragon’s Dogma 2, both two of2024’s most anticipated games, are launching on March 22, just six days beforeKill the Justice League’s first season begins. While neither game’s length has been officially disclosed by their developers,Dragon’s Dogma 2will likely see over 100 hours worth of gameplay, simply based on its larger size and the length of its predecessor. In light of all of this,Kill the Justice Leaguemay have too much competition by the time its first season launches for it to mean much for the game.
None of this is to say thatSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguecan’t pick itself back up again; its first season could very well revive the game and draw enough players back into the fray by being much more than it is anticipated to be. Regardless,Kill the Justice Leaguehasn’t done well up to this point, and if it doesn’t change something soon, any light left at the end of the tunnel may fade.
