Category: Video Games

Comic writer Gail Simone has revealed she worked on Warner Bros.’ beleaguered Wonder Woman game before it was shelved yesterday.

Simone, known for being the longest running female writer on Wonder Woman comics to date, praised the “dream team” working on the video game, insisting everyone she worked with from the now-shuttered Monolith and Warner Bros. was “enthusiastic and supportive.”

“I was asked to do long-term consulting on the game, and I was thrilled to do it, it was a perfect storm of stuff I adore,” Simone wrote on social media. “Wonder Woman, video games, and one of my favorite games studios: Monolith, who produced the Game Of The Year Mordor games, that I was completely addicted to.

“The game was gorgeous and expansive. It was beautiful to look at. I am not going to give details for a number of reasons, but every effort was made to make this not just a great game, but a great Wonder Woman game. A showpiece epic.

“And all of that was because of the team. Everyone who worked on it brought their A-game. Programmers, artists, designers, everyone. I don’t know that I have ever worked with a team that cared more about making sure the end product was perfect.”

“It was a dream come true. Wonder Woman had a dream team and they put their all into it,” Simone concluded.

“They made sure it had WW and DC lore on every aspect of the game. It was a thrill and honor to work with them. I know there’s a lot of finger-pointing going on, but everyone I worked with from Monolith and WB both was enthusiastic and supportive. Everyone wanted to make the best game ever.”

Announced in December 2021 with a brief teaser trailer and description, Wonder Woman was a single-player action adventure set in a “dynamic” open-world in which players became Diana of Themyscira in an original story set within the DC universe.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Wonder Woman was in trouble after reportedly rebooting and switching directors early last year. It had already cost more than $100 million and was reportedly still years away from release.

Monolith’s reimagined Nemesis system (it developed the much-loved Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel) would have seen Wonder Woman befriending enemies, but the system was ditched in favor of a more traditional action adventure game.

Yesterday, Warner Bros. announced the end of development on Wonder Woman and the closure of three of its studios: Monolith Productions, MultiVersus developer Player First Games, and WB San Diego.

It followed a troubled year for Warner Bros.’ video game division, first with the catastrophic release of Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, then the disappointing release of Smash Bros.-style brawler MultiVersus. The company said Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s failure contributed to a $200 million hit to its business, with MultiVersus adding another $100 million on top. Warner Bros. Games’ only other recent release, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, also failed to make an impression.

Meanwhile, fans of Monolith’s much-loved Nemesis System are now lamenting its “wasted potential.”

Here’s Warner Bros.’ 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 videogame 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.

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Tarkir is back, and that means dragons. A lot of dragons. Magic: The Gathering – Tarkir: Dragonstorm is diving headfirst into the plane where clans battle, and giant flying lizards rule the skies. If you played during Khans of Tarkir, this set is like a reunion with old friends (except now, those friends have even more firepower and zero chill). Expect three-color madness, absurdly powerful spells, and just enough nostalgia to make you forget how many Siege Rhinos you lost to back in the day.

Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Preorders

There’s something for everyone this time around. Want to Play Boosters, hunt for Collector Booster treasures, or jump straight into Commander mayhem? This set has you covered. No matter your budget or how badly you want to pull that ridiculously rare serialized dragon.

Magic: The Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm – Play Booster Box

Tekken 8 veteran Anna Williams is returning to the roster, and while her redesign seems to be going down well with most fans, some aren’t so sure and are even comparing her new look to Santa Claus.

When one fan asked Tekken game director and chief producer Katsuhiro Harada if the development team could bring back the “old Anna design,” Harada slammed the criticism, saying: “If you prefer the old design, I am not taking those away from you.”

“While 98% of the fans are welcoming this, there will always be people like you,” Harada wrote. “I understand and sympathize that it may not suit your personal taste, but if you prefer the old design, past works already exist. I am not taking those away from you.

“Also, you refer to yourself as ‘Anna fans,’ as if you represent all Anna fans, but you should express your opinion as an individual.

“You threaten to quit if she isn’t brought back. You complain the moment she is brought back. You demand that she be reverted after she has been completely redesigned from scratch, including her model and framework,” he added. “And if she actually were reverted, you’d just say, ‘That’s recycling!’

“Either way, your method of expressing your opinion and the content of your argument are entirely unconstructive, utterly pointless, and, above all, disrespectful to the other Anna fans who are genuinely looking forward to her.”

When another commenter pointed out that Tekken “hasn’t rereleased one of [its] older games into modern systems with functional netcode” and summarized Harada’s response as “a joke,” the director said: “Thank you for POINTLESS reply. You yourself are the joke. MUTED.”

As mentioned, reaction to Anna’s new design is largely positive, although there are some complaints, mostly around her outfit. “Before she was announced I was hoping for an edgier, angry, violent Anna out for revenge for her fiance’s death and so I’m quit happy with this design!” said redditor AngryBreadRevolution.

“The hair is growing on me. It really suits the outfit and personality well. It wont look good on all her outfits naturally, but her original bob will still be available.

“Coat was ruined for me when it was pointed out the resemblance to Christmas. The leotard, tights, boots and gloves all look fantastic though so looking forward to being able to take off the coat.”

“Love everything but the white feathers,” said troonpins. “It’s giving Santa Clause.”

“Aside from looking like Santa Claus, she looks a lot younger than she did in Tekken 7 and before,” added Cheap_Ad4756. “She looks like less of a ‘woman’ now and more like a girl. I don’t get the dominatrix vibe from her at all anymore.”

“Horrible,” declared spiralqq. “It’s another overdesigned T8 look, feels like almost every costume in this game lacks a real focal point and everyone is just decked out in 100 bulky accessories from head to toe. I’d like it a lot more without the coat, or at the very least if the whole outfit didn’t look like Santa cosplay. You can’t have a bright red coat with white fur trims and a black belt and read as anything other than Santa.”

Tekken 8 has sold 3 million copies a year from release, achieving the sales milestone at a faster pace than Tekken 7, which took 10 years to sell 12 million copies worldwide.

“Tekken 8 is an amazing new entry in the long-running series,” we wrote in IGN’s Tekken 8 review, awarding it 9/10. “Interesting tweaks to its classic fighting systems, a full suite of fun offline modes, great new characters, incredible training tools, and a vastly improved online experience all add up to a fighting game I will be playing for many years to come. By honoring its legacy, but continuing to move forward, Tekken 8 manages to stand out as something special.”

Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.