Key Takeaways
- MultiVersus relaunched with exciting new content, but has still underperformed financially.
- The game’s underperformance has helped add $100 million to Warner Bros’ existing $200 million deficit.
- Despite financial struggles, MultiVersus continues to add new content, including new characters and game modes.
During a recent financial call, Warner Bros executives reveal that MultiVersus has been underperforming for the company, adding to an already major deficit this year. Despite MultiVersus shutting down earlier in 2023 following a lengthy beta period and an uncertain future, things appeared bright after Warner Bros and Player FIrst Games confirmed the free-to-play brawler would be making a comeback.
The May relaunch of MultiVersus was met with plenty of excitement from the community after Player First revealed all of the changes the studio made following the beta feedback. The game transitioned to Unreal Engine 5, introduced a new PvE mode called Rifts, and announced surprising character additions with The Joker, Jason Voorhees, and Agent Smith to kick things off in the accompanying season. However, it appears that the excitement was ultimately short-lived.
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Despite missing features and modes at launch, MultiVersus quickly became a major hit and even prompted Warner Bros to purchase Player First Games a couple months later. However, that momentum seems to have stalled as Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav and Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels revealed that MultiVersus has largely underperformed, adding another $100 million to the $200 million deficit already impacting the games division.
Warner Bros Games Has Had a Rough 2024 So Far
Wiedenfels didn’t pin the entire deficit on MultiVersus, though indicated that it was the primary reason alongside other underperforming releases. It’s been a rough year for Warner Bros, one which largely started with the release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The long-in development and oft-delayed title from Rocksteady didn’t hit with fans or critics. While Rocksteady continues to push post-launch content, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League became a massive financial flop, contributing to the bulk of the company’s deficit in 2024.
Even as dire as things may seem for the free-to-play title, Player First Games continues to add new content to the experience. In fact, MultiVersus just revealed its season 4 content, including new characters Raven and Marceline. The 10-week season will also be getting the new Arena game mode, more maps, the Fighters Road feature, as well as limited time events, Rifts, and plenty more.
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