Behind ‘Suicide Squad,’ the Year’s Biggest Video-Game Flop

David Haddad, the head of video games for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., visited the London offices of subsidiary Rocksteady Studios in mid-February for an all-hands meeting. While previous gatherings with the executive had been peppered with tactful euphemisms, this time Haddad was blunt, according to two people briefed on his remarks. Weeks after its release, the studio’s latest game, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, was tanking.

Haddad shared few details on the exact scope of the Suicide Squad misfire, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic information. But it didn’t take long for them to find out the extent of the damage.