Warner Bros has opened up public registrations for a public alpha for Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Warner Bros was sure to remind testers that the game was not complete. They said:
“Please note, the game is still in development, and this test will only represent a smaller, specific section of the campaign and will not be representative of the full/final experience.”
The alpha is happening between November 30, 2023, at 6 AM PT, and December 4, 2023, at 12 AM PT. That will certainly be more than enough time for players to collect impressions, so we can expect a lot of that feedback to go public at the start of next month.
But this alpha is primarily about testing Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’s online infrastructure. Presumably, they will be testing for cross-play in particular, as Warner Bros’ studio Rocksteady has to be the one coordinating their system across different platforms, from different companies, while respecting each other’s DMCAs and internal information.
Rocksteady must surely be aware that fans are going to be judging the game itself, even if this alpha is about the online systems. There’s a lot of bad press surrounding Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, leading to its delay.
In particular, a PlayStation Showcase from February of this year ended up being a poor showing, as fans reacted to Rocksteady’s preview with disappointment and credulity. That was compounded with revelations that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League was being planned as a live service game.
While live service games have been very popular and successful in recent years, gamers are starting to feel saturated by the genre. We should also recognize the nuances in this announcement. The worst rumors that the game would be microtransaction heavy seem to not be the case; Rocksteady clarified there would be a steady stream of narrative DLC planned in the pipeline, and it would be playable for free.
However, we do know that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will have in-game cosmetics and a battle pass. Season passes and battle passes are the currently popular mode for monetization for live service games.
But the live service game question also affects perception of the game on a fundamental level. The reason the PlayStation Showcase was poorly received was fans were doubtful that Rocksteady was making levels where players would just be leveling up for the sake of leveling up, and that there wouldn’t be enough challenge and variety to make it engaging enough.
In other words, there is doubt that Rocksteady has the capability to make a live service game. That’s a question that we have seen Arkane and Naughty Dog both struggle to answer in the affirmative. But if Rocksteady is confident to bring an alpha, maybe they’re confident that they can prove naysayers wrong now.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will be released on February 24, 2024, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Windows via Steam.
