Behind the Burnout: Suicide Squad Leaders Open Up About Industry Fallout and Their Next Chapter
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Former Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League leaders Axel Rydby and Armstrong open up about the burnout and corporate pressure that nearly drove them out of the industry, and how they are bouncing back with a new indie project called Secret of Circadia.
The toll of a major AAA project failing can ripple far beyond corporate earnings reports. In a recent interview with Bloomberg covered by Rock Paper Shotgun, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League co-director Axel Rydby and associate design director Johnny Armstrong opened up about how the game's tumultuous development and commercial disappointment nearly pushed them out of the game industry entirely. When Rydby joined Rocksteady in 2018, the project initially felt like an exciting pivot. However, years of delays and mounting financial pressure shifted the focus away from creative design and toward spreadsheet-driven metrics designed to recoup ballooning budgets.
The pressure cooker environment eventually took a severe psychological toll on the creative leadership. Rydby described feeling like he was no longer making games, but instead following elusive marketing analysis metrics that sapped the joy from his work. Armstrong echoed those sentiments, noting that the final fallout left him feeling completely drained and ready to walk away from development altogether. It is a stark reminder of the human cost behind live service misfires, where shifting corporate priorities can turn a passion for creation into an exhausting exercise in damage control.
Fortunately, the story does not end in burnout. Following their departures from Rocksteady, Rydby and Armstrong reconnected and decided to return to development on their own terms. Their new project, Secret of Circadia, is an indie city-builder, deckbuilder, and roguelite hybrid exploring themes of artificial intelligence and nature reclaiming the world. The duo are currently running a Kickstarter campaign for the game, offering players a chance to support a fresh start for two seasoned developers who are ready to build something meaningful again.
Original reporting by Oisin Kuhnke at Rock Paper Shotgun. You can read the original piece here
Tags: Rocksteady, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Game Development, Indie Games, Industry News
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun