Updated
Updated · Rock Paper Shotgun · Jul 2
Ex-Rocksteady Directors Launch Secret of Circadia Kickstarter After 2024 Suicide Squad Flop
Updated
Updated · Rock Paper Shotgun · Jul 2

Ex-Rocksteady Directors Launch Secret of Circadia Kickstarter After 2024 Suicide Squad Flop

2 articles · Updated · Rock Paper Shotgun · Jul 2

Summary

  • Axel Rydby and Johnny Armstrong, former Rocksteady directors on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, have launched a Kickstarter for Secret of Circadia, a city-builder, deckbuilder and roguelite.
  • Bloomberg reported the pair turned to the new project after Suicide Squad’s poor reviews and weak sales left both questioning whether they wanted to stay in games.
  • Rydby said repeated delays shifted work from making a generous live-service game to chasing replayability and budget recovery through opaque marketing spreadsheets pushed by Warner Bros. executives.
  • A few months after leaving Rocksteady, the two reconnected and decided to build a game together, framing Secret of Circadia around AI risks and nature reclaiming the world.

Insights

Can two developers fleeing a failed blockbuster redefine gaming success on their own terms?
As AAA budgets become unsustainable, are smaller indie games the real future of the industry?