Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League: Everything we know so far

the cast of characters for Suicide Squad kill the justice league includes Deadshot, Harley Quinn, King Shark and Captain Boomerang
(Image credit: WB Games)

After years of silence, developer Rocksteady finally confirmed last year that its next title is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. 

The British developer lifted the lid on its next game at the DC Fandome presentation in the summer of 2020, but since then the studio has gone right back to being frustratingly tight-lipped about the project. We just got to see a bit more of its visuals, though little gameplay (if any) was in the latest preview video (also shown off at a DC Fandome event).

We do at least have a 2022 release window, and we know the game is set within the same universe as Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham series, plus it’s been confirmed that it’ll launch on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. 

Considering that James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad movie is set to release this year it seems like this squad of DC villains is really going through a golden period of interest. We’ll be shocked if there isn’t at least some form of cross-promotion between the two releases, so perhaps we’ll learn more about the game in the coming months. 

Till then, however, here’s everything we currently know about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League release date window 

When Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was announced back in August 2020 at the DC Fandome virtual event it was given a vague 2022 release date.  

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Since then, we’ve not heard anything more specific. However, Gotham Knights, which is a co-op action-adventure game developed by WB Montreal originally scheduled for this year, has now been pushed back to 2022 due to the effects of the ongoing pandemic.

There is the possibility that Rocksteady’s work may have also been similarly impacted, or that WB will not want to release two flagship DC games in a single year, meaning that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League could, unfortunately, suffer its own delay. 

But for now, Rocksteady has said nothing to indicate the game will be moved from its current 2022 release window. Here's hoping it's more like Q1 2022 than Q4. 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailer 

On Oct. 16, at DC Fandome 2021, we got our next trailer for The Suicide Squad. It's heavy on cut-scenes and laughs.

On August 20, 2020, Rocksteady gave us our first look at its take on the Suicide Squad with a mood-setting CGI trailer. 

The trailer confirms the location of the game to be Superman’s regular haunt, Metropolis, and we also got a look at the members of the squad this time around: Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot and King Shark. 

Amanda Waller is confirmed to be the squad’s handler, and Brainiac is also teased as being the primary antagonist. What’s worse is it appears the evil mastermind has taken control of members of the Justice League, in this case, the Man of Steel himself as seen under the control of the supervillain. 

As the name implies it looks like the only way the Suicide Squad can save the day is to kill the Justice League. Good luck with that. 

Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League story 

We don’t know a huge amount about the story of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League beyond what the announcement trailer tells us. 

Of course, by its very nature, it’ll feature a reluctant group of anti-heroes and villains forced to save the world against overwhelming odds or face death by the explosives planted in their heads. In this case, it seems like Brainiac has taken control of the Justice League to cause havoc in Metropolis and the squad has been recruited to save the day. 

Because the game is subtitled Kill the Justice League rather than just Kill Superman it’s almost guaranteed that more members of the legendary superhero team will show up. Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and, of course, Batman are surely strong bets to appear in some form. 

We know that the game is set in the same universe as Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham franchise, so there’s every possibility that the story might at some point take players back to Gotham City or feature additional characters from that series. 

Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League gameplay 

We know that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be a co-op action game that allows you and your friends to team up as one of four playable characters. We can also say with almost certainty that the game will be played from a third-person perspective. 

Each member of the squad will have their own unique arsenal of weapons, individual skills as well as differing traversal abilities for getting around the game world. The game will be fully playable in single-player as well, for those players who prefer to take down the Justice League solo. 

suicide squad kill the justice league superman

(Image credit: WB Games)

The game will be set in an open-world environment in the form of Metropolis which is being described as the game’s “fifth character,” but there may also be the opportunity to visit other iconic locations from the DC universe. 

It’s a reasonable bet that the gameplay will be broadly similar to Rocksteady’s popular Batman Arkham system with fluid combat and several large-scale boss battles. There is also the possibility that Rocksteady has taken some inspiration from Crystal Dynamics’ Marvel’s Avengers game, which is another superhero team co-op game. 

Warner Bros Interactive, Rocksteady’s parent company, has been making a big stink about live-service games as of late claiming that its upcoming projects are going to have a “heavy focus on live service" elements. 

This could mean that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is designed for repeated play with regular content drops throughout its lifespan, news that will likely stir mixed emotions in some gamers. 

While the idea of the game having a long tail is quite exciting, the aforementioned Avengers game has chased the live-service trend since its launch in September 2020 and has been heavily criticized for its lackluster updates and lack of content at launch. 

Hopefully, if Rocksteady and WB have decided to opt for a live-service model it’s because it’s the best fit for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and not just because the model is in vogue right now. 

Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League characters 

So far at least four members of the Suicide Squad have been confirmed: Harley Quinn (voiced by Tara Strong), Captain Boomerang (rumored to be voiced by Chris Parson), King Shark (WWE wrestler Nuufolau Joel Seanoa) and Deadshot (voice actor unknown but it's not Will Smith).

Shark Man

(Image credit: WB Games)

We don’t know if any other regularly-included Suicide Squad members such as Rick Flag, Killer Croc or Katana will make an appearance. Slightly more left-field choices who will be appearing in James Gunn’s upcoming cinematic take on the squad such as Polka-Dot Man are probably unlikely to feature beyond maybe a subtle Easter egg or winking reference. 

It seems doubtful that the game will offer any more playable characters. After all, it’s a four-player co-op game, so more characters would mean benching at least some of the cast and Rocksteady is probably keen to focus on the core group before growing the roster. 

However, more characters could be included as post-launch content. This would make a lot of sense if the game is going to be adopting a live service model, and therefore requiring sizeable DLC drops in order to entice players to stick around. 

Outside of the Suicide Squad itself the likes of Amanda Waller, Brainiac, and (a possessed) Superman have all been confirmed to be included, but might we see an appearance from the caped crusader as well? 

Rory Mellon
Entertainment Editor (UK)

Rory is an Entertainment Editor at Tom’s Guide based in the UK. He covers a wide range of topics but with a particular focus on gaming and streaming. When he’s not reviewing the latest games, searching for hidden gems on Netflix, or writing hot takes on new gaming hardware, TV shows and movies, he can be found attending music festivals and getting far too emotionally invested in his favorite football team.