Rocksteady Studios' latest release, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, has had a rocky start on Steam with launch day player counts falling significantly short of those seen by Marvel's Avengers, despite both featuring live service elements. Marvel's Avengers, by Square Enix, peaked at around 29,916 players on its first full day on Steam, whereas Suicide Squad managed only 13,459 players. Factors such as brand recognition, live service fatigue, and perhaps performance on other platforms like consoles may have played a role in this underwhelming start.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is the follow-up to the acclaimed Batman: Arkham Knight and offers players a cooperative gameplay experience, albeit marred by the live service model that has recently seen diminishing enthusiasm from the gaming community. The game does offer a planned range of post-launch content, including a Joker expansion promising a fresh take on the iconic villain, but whether this will boost player engagement remains uncertain.

Why did Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League have lower Steam launch numbers than Marvel's Avengers?

The lower Steam launch numbers for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League compared to Marvel's Avengers could be attributed to several factors, including weaker brand recognition, live service fatigue among gamers, the timing of the release compared to Marvel's cinematic successes, and potentially better performance on gaming consoles that wouldn't be reflected in the Steam stats.

Background Information:

Rocksteady Studios, the developers behind Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, are well known for their Batman: Arkham series, which has been praised for its narrative depth, engaging combat, and immersive world-building. The Batman: Arkham games have set high industry standards for superhero video games. Marvel's Avengers, developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix, despite the massive popularity of the Marvel brand, faced criticism for its gameplay, monetization practices, and live service model, leading to a decline in player numbers post-launch and its subsequent delisting.