“I could feel myself coming apart at the seams”: Suicide Squad leads on almost leaving the games industry after its failure
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, developed by Rocksteady Studios, has become a cautionary tale in live-service gaming following its commercial and critical failure. According to interviews with Bloomberg, the game’s co-director Axel Rydby and associate design director Johnny Armstrong were so affected by the project’s troubled development and poor reception that they nearly abandoned the games industry altogether.
Rydby joined Rocksteady in 2018 when the project initially seemed promising, though it represented a strategic pivot toward live-service gaming rather than the studio’s traditional action-game focus. Despite attempts to salvage the troubled title—with involvement from Warner Bros. executives—the game’s fundamental design issues proved impossible to overcome.
The behind-the-scenes struggles took a significant emotional toll. Rydby described his experience candidly, saying “I could feel myself coming apart at the seams,” illustrating the psychological strain of managing a failing high-profile project. The article underscores not just a commercial failure, but the human cost borne by those leading development.
Suicide Squad’s failure serves as a stark reminder of the risks inherent in live-service gaming, particularly when strategic direction conflicts with market expectations and player preferences. The impact on its leadership—potentially driving experienced developers to consider leaving the industry—highlights a broader concern about unsustainable development practices and the pressure placed on creative leads during troubled productions.