Summary
- MultiVersus fans are upset about the decision from Warner Bros Games to shut down MultiVersus after less than a year.
- Many fans have cited the game’s Founder’s Pass as a major source of discontent, with many fans unable to fully use their currency from the package.
- Despite MultiVersus’ strong early showing, the game massively underperformed for WB and Player First Game, with losses of over $100 million.
MultiVersus players are expressing their discontent about the recently-announced shutdown for the platform fighter, particularly those who purchased the Founder’s Pack. The platform fighter has seen a rocky launch since its highly-anticipated reveal, showcasing the massive crossover of Warner Bros. properties all in a Super Smash Bros-inspired fighting game. The live-service game saw massive player engagement during its early access debut in 2022, only to be shutdown for another year before MultiVersus finally fully launched last year. However, the game’s success will be short-lived with its end on the way.
Warner Bros. officially confirmed on January 31 that MultiVersus will be shutting down within the coming months, after less than a year. The platform fighter’s servers are scheduled to go offline on May 30, following the conclusion of the game’s fifth competitive season at 12 PM EST, with monetary purchases already halted. The developer did confirm players would be able to continue playing MultiVersus in offline mode, however, with the game being delisted from online storefronts on its shutdown date. Now, one subset of fans are voicing their displeasure with the decision to shutter MultiVersus.
Related
The free-to-play online fighting game MultiVersus announces the decision to shut down barely a year after its official release.
As reported by Eurogamer, many fans of MultiVersus are railing against Warner Bros’ decision to shut down the online platform fighter. Many fans have cited the game’s “Founder’s Pack” as a major source of discontent, with players not receiving the chance to use all the provided currency from the Founder’s Pack. MultiVersus currently features 35 different playable characters with five free starter characters and six later given out for free, with the Founder’s Pass coming with 30 character tokens. Many players have called for MultiVersus to give partial refunds for the unusable character tokens connected with the Founder’s Pass.
MultiVersus Players Not Happy About Shutdown
The MultiVersus shutdown has been a source of significant controversy surrounding both Warner Bros and Player First Games. Though MultiVersus saw a strong release in early 2024, the hype around the game would quickly taper off, with the game reportedly running at a serious loss for Warner Bros in recent months. Warner Bros Games reported a combined deficit of nearly $200 million in November, with MultiVersus‘ underperformance costing the studio upwards of $100 million. The shutdown also follows MultiVersus receiving a nomination for Best Fighting Game at the 2024 Game Awards.
MultiVersus‘ impending shutdown will mark the end of a tumultuous saga for Warner Bros. Games that saw the developer fielding heavy losses throughout the past year. The launch of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League saw significant struggles following its debut last year, considered to be a sizable “flop” for the studio. Developer Rocksteady would even see several rounds of layoffs following the failures of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, affecting everything from QA staff to artists and programmers. MultiVersus‘ shutdown will leave many fans disappointed at the departure of the once-promising platform fighter.
- Released
-
August 15, 2022
- ESRB
-
T For Teen // Fantasy Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
-
Player First Games