There’s no getting around the fact that Warner Bros. Games has been having a tough year. After Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League failed to capture audiences, the publisher’s platform fighter MultiVersus announced it would be closing its servers on May 30, barely one full year after the game saw its full release. After that date, the game will become unavailable for download and will be a strictly offline title.
The game had an extremely embattled lifespan, even as early as the beta. Though it initially found a massive audience, content drops eventually slowed down, and player counts soon cratered as a result. Even after returning from beta with a fully revamped game, player counts still dropped month after month until the recent shutdown notice. Despite all this, MultiVersus has managed to cultivate a sizable cult following. That same passionate fanbase has been taking to social media to let Warner Bros. And the world know that MultiVersus is just too good of an idea to let die out so easily.
MultiVersus Leak Reveals Scrapped Daffy Duck Plans and More
Following the announcement that MultiVersus is shutting down, a new leak confirms what it could have been by revealing scrapped content.
MultiVersus Fans are Right: The Game Deserves a Second Chance
Despite Fan Outcry, Nothing is Saving the Current Iteration of MultiVersus
In the wake of the shutdown announcement, fans of the platform fighter started setting social media ablaze with cries to keep the game alive after the May 30 deadline. #SaveMultiVersus took X by storm and has been trending on and off since news of the shutdown hit the zeitgeist. Sadly, these pleas are more than likely futile. Warner Bros. Games lost more than $100 million on live service ventures like MultiVersus and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The game has not been making the money WB had hoped for and no amount of fan demand is going to change that reality.
But the fans' hearts are in the right place. With the Season 5 update, MultiVersus is finally the game it should have been at launch; the overall speed of matches has been dramatically increased, there are multiple free avenues through which to unlock characters, additional defensive options outside just dodging, and fan favorites like Raven, Powerpuff Girls, and Samurai Jack have made it onto the roster after extensive requests. Just as MultiVersus seemed to be reaching its full potential, the game started to sunset. And while nothing is going to stop the servers for MultiVersus from shutting down as planned, the demand is very clearly there for more of the game.
The Concept of MultiVersus is Too Good to Let Die
On paper, MultiVersus sounds like a smash hit success. Beloved characters from properties like DC Comics, Loony Toons, Adventure Time, The Matrix, Gremlins, and Friday the 13th all getting together for their own version of Super Smash Bros. Seems like a million-dollar idea. Outside of something like Fortnite, where characters are simply reduced to skins, MultiVersus may have been one of the most ambitious crossover titles in all of gaming, and with decades and decades of unused IP sitting in WB’s backlog, the roster potential seems like something that never became all it could.
And based on MultiVersus' earliest player numbers, MultiVersus’ concept was clearly something very appealing. The idea is a golden goose. It was the lackluster execution that needed refining into something that keeps players engaged and spending money at a sustainable rate. An issue that could be easily resolved with another staple of fighting game franchises: a sequel.
MultiVersus 2 Can and Should Happen
While any hope for saving the current iteration of MultiVersus is dead in the water, there may be a second life for the franchise in the form of a sequel. Developer Player First Games (or whatever studio is tasked with bringing back the crossover IP) can learn from the mistakes of the original game. Make a sequel, bring back and expand the existing roster, add more stages, and charge a double AA price point for it and cosmetic microtransactions. MultiVersus was wrongheaded about its monetization/character unlock methods, but a sequel built on an already solid foundation could fix those issues.
Right now it’s too early to say what will happen to the MultiVersus IP itself. It is entirely possible that the game shuts down in May and languishes as a cult favorite with LAN tournaments cropping up every now and again. Maybe MultiVersus will becom e a footnote in the history of the FGC as yet another Smash competitor that never lived up to the hype.
But the roster was there. The gameplay (after some tweaks) was there. And most importantly, the fans are still there. There’s a lot more story left to tell for MultiVersus. All it takes is a second chance with the right ideas, passion, and lessons learned to help the concept reach its fullest potential.
MultiVersus
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 76 /100 Critics Rec: 68%
- Released
- May 28, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Fantasy Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
- Player First Games
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Bros. Games
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- PC Release Date
- May 28, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
CHARACTERS: Choose from Bugs Bunny, Batman, Arya Stark, Rick Sanchez, and many more. In MultiVersus, every star brings their unique moves, worlds and attitudes to fight. And as the roster expands, so does the spectacle — with new personalities and play styles turning up the heat in every battle.
MAPS: Our maps turn legendary realms like the Batman’s Bat Cave, Jake and Finn’s Treefort, Game of Thrones’ Throne Room into epic battle grounds. And the best part? We’re adding new maps regularly, so the party never stops!
MODES: Whether you’re seeking the intensity of 1v1, the frenzy of a 4-player mayhem, or team up for strategic 2v2 battles, we’ve got you covered. Plus, introducing an all new PvE mode, a thrilling realm of limitless combat possibilities designed for solo or co-op play.
CROSS-PLATFORM: MultiVersus has full cross-play and cross-progression support across all platforms.
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- May 28, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- May 28, 2024
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
