Summary
Originally a relatively small developer from London in the UK,Rocksteadywas formed in 2004, and put out its first game in 2006. TitledUrban Chaos: Riot Response, Rocksteady’s first game was a mediocre first-person shooter that puts players in the boots of a riot squad member, and tasks them with taking down a gang by any means necessary, a premise that hasn’t aged all that well. But despite its humble beginnings, just a few years later,Rocksteadywould releaseBatman: Arkham Asylum, and the rest is history.
ThoughBatman: Arkham Knightwasn’t the 10/10 titlethat many had hoped it would be, it was still generally considered to be a great video game, and Rocksteady’s future looked incredibly bright. After a lengthy hiatus, Rocksteady announced that it was working onSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. But in the following years, the more that fans found out about the game, the more it didn’t seem like a Rocksteady game at all. And withSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguenow undergoing a hefty delay, it might have been better for Rocksteady to have walked before it ran.
RELATED:Every Game to Feature Harley Quinn That’s Not Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League
Despite its shortcomings,Batman: Arkham Knightstill proved that Rocksteady was an incredibly talented team, one capable of producing veryhigh-quality AAA blockbustersat a consistent rate. And with that reputation now fully cemented, Rocksteady essentially had the pick of the crop, with the world being its proverbial oyster. For years, fans speculated on what Rocksteady could be working on, and though it could have been something non-DC, the vast majority of theories revolved around the popular comic license.
At first, fans were sure that Rocksteady was working ona Superman game, with supposedly leaked images cropping up every few months for a good year or so. Then it was a Justice League ensemble game, and at one point it was even alleged that Rocksteady was working on a Green Arrow project. Though the property was subject to constant changes, the one throughline of every theory was that the next Rocksteady game would be a single-player action-adventure title, just likeBatman: Arkhamwas.
So, naturally, whenSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewas first announced, it raised a lot of eyebrows from long-time Rocksteady fans. A 4-player multiplayer shooter,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueseemed like a major departure for Rocksteady, and fans were a little skeptical that the drastic change was something the studio could handle. And by the looks of things, fans might have been right. WhenSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguereceived its first gameplay reveal earlier this year, many fans weren’t afraid to voice their disappointment loudly. A live-service, always-online multiplayer game in which the environments look same-y, the enemies look dull, and the characters all play the same,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueshowed absolutely no sign of Rocksteady’sArkhampedigree.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewas then promptly delayed out of its July 03, 2025, release date and pushed all the way back to February 2024. It seems fair to say thatSuicide Squadmight have been more than Rocksteady can handle right now. Rocksteady is attempting to go from a history of all single-player action-adventure games to a live-service 4-player co-op game, intended to last for at least a few years after release. This is no easy task for any developer, with even Naughty Dog apparently facing similar struggles with itsLast of Usmultiplayer game. Instead of jumping right in at the deep end,Rocksteadyprobably should have started with anothersingle-player game based around the Suicide Squad, or even keep the multiplayer angle, but pair it back to just two players while removing the live-service burden.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguereleases July 21, 2025 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:James Gunn’s DCU Spotlighting Minor Characters is a Trend DC Games Should Follow
