Highlights
- Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League received lukewarm reviews and has a lower player count on Steam compared to other superhero games.
- The game's Metacritic score of 62 is significantly lower than the highly acclaimed Arkham trilogy titles.
- Rocksteady Studios is planning to release DLC and seasons for the game, but the low player count on Steam raises concerns about the game's future.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League has endured a torrid time following its launch earlier this month. The Rocksteady Studios title launched on next gen consoles and PC, but its Steam player count will leave fans and the studio itself nervous about the game’s future.
The Batman: Arkham trilogy of games, also created by Rocksteady Studios, were a huge success, both with the media and gamers alike. It helped redefine the superhero genre and paved the way for titles like Spiderman and Guardians of the Galaxy. Although there was some early criticism of the switch to a live-service looter/shooter and the fact that players would be attempting to kill the Justice League, rather than play as them, there were still high hopes for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s launch.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Gotham Knights Should Have Swapped Places
Both Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Gotham Knights have been wild rides for fans, yet they may have been better if they swapped places.
Although Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League reviews have been generally lukewarm, it appears Rocksteady Studios may have taken the changes too far, at least according to the Steam player count. As reported by Forbes, the game peaked at 13,459 players on Saturday, February 3, despite it being the first full weekend after its release. That figure is lower than Marvel’s Avengers’ 31,165 and significantly lower than Destiny 2’s 316,750 peak players. Even at its lowest, Destiny 2's player count was nearly three times higher. Despite the low player count, though, 85% of Steam players have given it a positive rating.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Outperformed By Arkham Trilogy
The game’s Metacritic score of 62 also puts it significantly lower than other superhero titles. Specifically, Arkham Asylum received a 92 rating while Arkham City and Arkham Knight scored 94 and 87 respectively, making them three of the best received titles in the genre, and certainly the three best Batman Arkham games to date. Gotham Knights received a 67 rating, as did Marvel’s Avengers, while Marvel Midnight Suns racked up an 83 rating.
Rocksteady Studios has already announced plans to launch a significant amount of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League DLC and seasons, including additional player characters, new missions, and more weapons. Such low player counts will be a concern for a studio that has already committed to the game’s long-term future. However, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launched on next-gen consoles as well, so it's possible that the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S player counts may be higher, but there's no way to find the data, so it's currently unknown if the player numbers will be high enough to make up for the game’s performance on Steam to ensure its survival.
