Two former Rocksteady Studios designers have discussed the challenges they faced during the extended development of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Axel Rydby and Johnny Armstrong spoke about shifting priorities and the difficulties of pivoting to a live service model. They are now developing an indie deckbuilding game called Secret of Circadia.
Axel Rydby, the game's top designer, told Bloomberg that prolonged development increased pressure to add replayability and monetization features. Meetings with Warner Bros. focused less on creative ideas and more on revenue. Rydby said he felt like he was following an unclear marketing spreadsheet rather than making games.
Johnny Armstrong, who joined Rocksteady in 2010 and became associate design director, noted overconfidence after the Batman: Arkham trilogy contributed to issues. The scale of the project made testing difficult, and repeated small delays prevented deeper improvements. Armstrong stated that the team put in many hours without tangible progress.
Both developers are now working on Secret of Circadia, a deckbuilding RPG. They launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking just over $11,000 and included an anti-generative AI disclaimer. Rydby expressed concern that the industry has moved away from passion projects toward a focus on sales and revenue.
