Summary
It’s been a bit of an odd few weeks forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Heading into 2024, many fans weren’t really expecting much fromSuicide Squad. After a disappointing gameplay reveal back in February 2023, many fans had lost faith inSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and the prolific leaks surrounding the game’s story in the last few months really didn’t help the game’s pre-release hype.
But it’s been a week sinceSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguefirst hit store shelves, and the general perception around the game has only continued to get more complicated by the day. While many fans are enjoyingSuicide Squadfor theco-op looter-shooterit is, many other fans just can’t shake the feeling that Rocksteady could have done so much better, and it seems as though the game’s sales are reflecting this mixed reception. At a time like this, Xbox Game Pass could beSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s savior.
Gotham Knights Received a Big Boost From Xbox Game Pass
While Xbox Game Pass can’t fix a game’s inherent issues, it can offer a mutually beneficial win for both fans and the developer, offering fans a high-profile game for no extra cost, while giving the developer a healthy boost in player-count. This doesn’t always work, but fora big game likeSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the results could be great.
A perfect example of this is DC’s very ownGotham Knights. Released back in October 2022,Gotham Knightswas a pretty big disappointment on launch. While some fans found enjoyment in the game’s storytelling, world, and melee-focused gameplay, many foundGotham Knights' loot-based gameplay loopfar too repetitive, resulting in a mixed critical reception and some disappointing sales numbers for Warner Bros.
In September 2023,Gotham Knightscame to Xbox Game Pass, and according to some statistics from the months following, this Game Pass launch resulted in 6% of Xbox’s entire player-base trying out the game in its first week on the service, causing a massive spike in active players. WhileGotham Knightscame to PlayStation Plus soon after, it only managed to capture 3% of PlayStation’s overall player-base, still resulting in a sizable increase in active players, but not quite like Xbox Game Pass' numbers.
Though it’s still early days forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the game’s initial sales aren’t looking great. WhileSuicide Squadwas technically number one on the UK physical sales chartsin the week of its release, that actually paints a false picture of success. Right now, physical sales are down across the board, so whileSuicide Squadwas number one, it only sold half of whatGuardians of the Galaxydid back when it first launched in 2021, according to GamesIndustry.Biz head Christopher Dring in a recent Twitter post.
What paints a far more shocking picture isSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s current SteamDB statistics. At the time of writing,Suicide Squadhas just 4,409 active players on Steam, and an all-time peak player-count of just 13,459. For reference,Persona 3 Reload, a game that sold less in the UK thanSuicide Squad, has about 25,000 players online right now according to SteamDB, and a peak of 45,002.
Things aren’t looking too hot forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and Xbox Game Pass could offer a lifeline. A live-service game through and through, it’s vital thatSuicide Squadretains a large enough player-base to make that seasonal content worthwhile to produce, and the best way to get new players through the door might be via Xbox Game Pass.
