20 Stupid Decisions That Destroyed Their Franchise

Honestly, Rocksteady’s initially impeccable Batman: Arkham saga started faltering long before 2024’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League delivered its death blow.

For one thing, main trilogy finale Arkham Knight underwhelmed with weaker storytelling, irritating Batmobile sections, and a plethora of PC issues. Furthermore, the mixed reception of prequel Arkham Origins and spin-off Gotham Knights – neither of which was developed by Rocksteady – cemented the Arkham series’ diminishing status.

Nevertheless, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was the final nail in the coffin. Sure, it looked great and had entertaining cinematics, but its moment-to-moment monotony, egregious glitches, uninvolving narrative, and lack of cultural cachet – emphasizing characters who’d recently failed twice to sufficiently charm moviegoers – meant that it was dead on arrival.

Its biggest sin, though, was tapping into a trend it had no business exploiting: live-service shenanigans.

On the surface, it maintained the Arkham games’ identity, but digging deeper revealed a significantly blander and less distinguished core plagued by the usual tropes: early access greediness; premium in-game purchases with multiple currencies; tedious looting, grinding, and crafting with multiple weapon classes; obnoxious menus and statistics; and overly familiar four-player looter shooter co-op.

Throw in the usual slow drip of dull post-launch content and it’s obvious why Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League ended up murdering the Arkham franchise's future instead.