Before It Imploded, WB Games Was Reportedly Working on a Crossover Kart Racer

Among the numerous undertakings that Warner Bros. Games were developing prior to the downturn, one involved creating a kart racer featuring characters from various franchises.

As I’ve learned from Colin Moriarty’s Sacred Symbols podcast, there was a time he spoke with someone who used to be connected to WB San Diego about this matter.

WB San Diego was one of the studios the publisher recently closed down.

It seems they were developing a game similar to Mario Kart, which they referred to as Moonlight. The two possible names under consideration for this game were WB Racers and Cross Drift Racers (XDR).

The upcoming kart racer, similar to the soon-closing MultiVersus platform fighter, boasts an extensive roster of characters hailing from various Warner Bros. franchises, including Adventure Time, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby-Doo.

Moriarty stated that he watched a recording of the game, which was being powered by Unreal Engine 5 and boasted distinctive graphics.

Based on the information from his reference, the game received approval “at an early stage during the pandemic.” However, it underwent numerous changes due to a disorganized strategy, which eventually led to its failure.

At first, the software was available across all significant platforms. However, it later reduced its availability to only the PC version. The developers expressed optimism that console and mobile adaptations would emerge if the PC version proved successful. Furthermore, there seemed to be some indecision regarding whether it would be a free-to-play or premium game.

Further details reveal that the team expanded to approximately 100 members, however, they experienced a significant amount of employee churn. Despite the game being deemed “solid as a rock,” the development process was directionless, causing numerous problems along the way.

Moriarty ends by pointing out that there was a significant amount of resentment within the team because they believed MultiVersus had an unfair advantage, having been granted two launch opportunities, while their kart racing game never received the same opportunity.

The team members were upset because they thought it wasn’t fair that MultiVersus got to launch twice, when their kart racer game never had the chance.

To clarify, Warner Bros. San Diego is one among the three studios that Warner Bros. has closed down. The others include Player First Games, known for MultiVersus, and Monolith Productions, famous for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor / Shadow of War, F.E.A.R., and even a Wonder Woman game, which was also cancelled.

Share your opinions regarding the future of WB San Diego and the abandoned go-kart racer. You can do this by posting your thoughts in the comment section below.

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2025-03-25 15:36