‘Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’ Fails To Reach Even Half Of ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Steam Player Peak

Ryan Pearson |

Feb 8, 2024

Harley Quinn (Tara Strong) begins to lose confidence in the team's success at Braniac's takeover in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024), Rocksteady Studios

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Steam player peak is less than half of those of the other infamous live-service superhero game, Marvel’s Avengers.

Green Lantern (TBA) and The Flash (Scott Porter) taunt the titular team in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024), Rocksteady Studios — Green Lantern (Dan White) and The Flash (Scott Porter) taunt the titular team in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024), Rocksteady Studios

As noted on SteamDB, a third-party website that tracks various data of Steam, Marvel’s Avengers had an all time peak of 31,165 players on September 5th, 2020. This was 24 hours after launch, and the game’s all-time peak. The peak being so soon after launch is typical, usually being bucked in rare cases by major updates or exposure via YouTube or social media.

However, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League saw only 13,459 players — again, the day after it’s launch. To add salt to the wound, even the beta for Marvel’s Avengers had an all-time peak of 18,908 players on Steam.

Charts showing the number of Steam players for the first week of Marvel's Avengers, its beta, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, along with their all-time peaks via SteamDB — Charts showing the number of Steam players for the first week of Marvel’s Avengers, its beta, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, along with their all-time peaks via SteamDB

It should be noted that this does not account for players on other platforms, but the comparison is nonetheless yet another blow to Rocksteady Studio’s latest game. The similarities aren’t hard to draw — both titles were reviled for the live service elements and currencies they featured as well as other issues.

Marvel’s Avengers would even shut down three years after launch, and saw publisher Square Enix suffer a $48 million loss in the quarter it launched.

Thor (Travis Willingham), Kamala Khan (Sandra Saad), Captain America (Jeff Schine), Hulk (Darin De Paul), Iron Man (Nolan North), and Black Widow (Laura Bailey) stand ready to battle via Marvel's Avengers (2020), Square Enix — Thor (Travis Willingham), Kamala Khan (Sandra Saad), Captain America (Jeff Schine), Hulk (Darin De Paul), Iron Man (Nolan North), and Black Widow (Laura Bailey) stand ready to battle in Marvel’s Avengers (2020), Square Enix

Meanwhile, fans speculated that Rocksteady Studios’ next big project after the Arkham games was originally intended to be a live-service game like Marvel’s Avengers. After it bombed, the developers supposedly adjusted the game to be more akin to Destiny 2.

If not that, the backlash from trailers revealing the game’s multiple currencies and requiring a constant online connection certainly made the point. At the time, trailers were beset with an almost 3:1 dislike/like ratio.

Plot leaks, tone-deaf handling of Kevin Conroy’s final scene in a video game as Batman, and sexual harassment whistleblowers also furthered any bad press the game already had.

King Shark (Joe Seanoa) faces down a live-service mess of a UI in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024), Rocksteady Games

Initial reviews for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League were also tepid at best, and the $100 Deluxe Edition couldn’t grant early access — as Rocksteady Studios soon found players were getting completed save files due to a bug.

After pulling the game offline (again, making it unplayable even in single player), they gave affected players $20 of in-game currency in compensation.

NEXT: Alleged Insider Spoils Two Upcoming Kevin Conroy Batman Cameos In Attempt To Run Damage Control For Late Actor’s Disrespectful Treatment In ‘Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’