Prior to the upcoming release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League on February 2, 2024 developer Rocksteady revealed their upcoming plans for future seasonal content. As I am days away from getting hands-on to play the game, I think it is a great time to break down the plan and give some predictions for the future.

Season 1

Season 1 of Seasonal Content for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will begin in March 2024. The biggest portion of this seasonal update will center around, The Joker. Who will be a playable character and come with a new playable environment, Joker's Funland (an amusement park/house of horrors). This game is set in the Arkhamverse, so the universe's Joker has been dead for 5 years. This playable Joker will be from another multiverse where Braniac came to invade. This allows the creative team at Rocksteady to provide a different spin on the Joker than the one used in the previous Arkham games. He will be younger, more inexperienced, but just as volatile. 

In addition, to the new character and environment, new story content will drop with activities featuring iconic DC villains and further expanding the conclusion of the game. As well as exploring the DC universe outside of the mainline Arkham titles. For season 1 this content seems to be focused not just around Joker, but also featuring "episodes" with Two-Face and Scarecrow in central roles. I'm for sure excited to see what more juice Rocksteady can get out of those two characters, considering they already did a fantastic job with both of them in the original Arkham games.

The season will also come with new cosmetic weapons themed around the season. This will add to the already very promising customization suite in the game. There will also be new activities featuring more Riddler content, and something called "Strongholds". "Strongholds if they are anything like their name will feature a new difficult area players will have to work together to bring down. I'm thinking of these as Destiny dungeons or raids. Endgame-level content that will prove difficult to beat, but rewarding as well. Time well tell if that comparison is accurate. Additionally, there will also be new boss fights and enemy variants which will presumably offer unique rewards to customize and continue to build your character in the endgame.

It seems that the seasonal content will launch in waves with the episodes. Presumably, when the first episode drops it will feature the new character and environment, with cosmetics to match. As well as some new missions and activities to explore the new character and environment. While the rest of the content will come with the second story episode. This seems to be a smart strategy to release in waves because it will allow players to still have something to look forward to in the immediate future.

This is a great way to announce this content. It is detailed without giving too much away. It promotes the high-level components that are coming more to do, new ways to play, and new places to explore. All while teasing more of the story, which is why most fans will be coming back.  

Chance that it all comes out

I believe releasing the schedule does two things. The first is that it proves to fans there is a plan for content post-completion of the story. The second is that it holds Rocksteady accountable for releasing the content. I know that nowadays with movies being shelved for tax purposes and games getting canceled years into development anything can happen. However, I think Warner Bros. Interactive and Rocksteady know how important public perception and fan perception are when it comes to the DC brand in pop culture. They need this to succeed and be a rewarding experience for those who play it. In hopes that when the new DCU starts up, some of these players will come to watch new projects like Creature Commandos and The Authority, not just the big tentpoles like Superman: Legacy and Brave and the Bold. Additionally, this will build up goodwill for projects like the Wonder Woman game coming from Monolith presumably in the next year or two. As well as in-development titles that James Gunn, Peter Safran, and David Zaslav keep hinting at that will tie into the new DCU. 

I think no matter what we will see at least two of these seasons this year. What is more likely in my opinion is that the last two need to be delayed into next year. That will bring up a slew of problems, considering its live-service online game that is asking for time and attention from its players. I think it can be saved if the first two seasons are great and they can delay it in the name of quality purposes. Otherwise, I see it as borderline a necessity for this game to hit all four drops this year and for them to space them out one per fiscal quarter. This will keep players retained and encourage those who may not have checked it out to come as it is a sign of continued support from the development team. 

The worst-case scenario could be we get the first season, numbers aren't doing well and they release the second as a last-ditch effort to try and jumpstart the hype for the game. That sort of strategy though hasn't worked for anyone in the past so if that happens it is very likely the last two will be canceled and unfortunately layoffs start coming. This game isn't too big to fail and if it does it will cost a lot of jobs and goodwill from the market towards DC and Rocksteady.

I don't believe that will be the case, as I am writing this today fan reaction to early access is positive and I can imagine will continue to surge as people get access on Friday. It won't be perfect since there are people out there who have had it out for this game since day 1. But if it continues to hit with the fans I have a feeling by the time Seasons 2 and 3 roll around, the game will have a strong core audience hungering for more adventures with their friends in the DC multiverse.