MultiVersus Is a Prime Example of Shooting For The Wrong Moon

MultiVersus Is a Prime Example of Shooting For The Wrong Moon

• MultiVersus showed potential with a big open beta launch but faced criticism and dropped player interest over time.
• Taking MultiVersus offline may not have been the best move; an early access model could have built more interest than planning a 1.0 launch many months after closing the beta.
• Free-to-play accessibility attracted many players, but lackluster updates left the game feeling stagnant. More ongoing support for MultiVersus could have helped build its brand.

With its hiatus continuing for an indeterminate amount of time, MultiVersus’ offline status makes its place in the fighting game genre one of the strangest in recent years. The Warner Brothers crossover platform fighter was able to generate a respectable amount of attention upon the initial launch of its open beta, but it has since gone offline since June 2023 ahead of an “early 2024” return. The drop-off in hype that MultiVersus experienced after the peak that was its appearance at EVO made for little fanfare when its servers eventually came down, but there’s a possibility that WB may have been better off if the game was allowed to exist in an early access state as it became updated over time.

It’s clear that MultiVersus was intended to reach the levels of popularity of its Smash Bros. inspiration, but that doesn’t mean the game received what it needed to do so. It faced many criticisms since the launch of its open beta, some of which were addressed with patches, while others were left unchanged through subsequent months of small updates. It’s understandable that developer Player First Games would want to take some time to reevaluate its strategy on the free-to-play title, but the choice to take MultiVersus offline may not be what the fledgling platform fighter needed when it comes to establishing itself.

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MultiVersus New Character Wish List When It Returns

MultiVersus has taken a little hiatus to iron out some kinks, but it’ll be back soon, hopefully with a new, improved, and expanded roster of fighters.

MultiVersus’ Initial Launch Showed Major Potential

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A Hyped Tournament Prize Pool and Marketing Campaign

It lacked the same level of synergy found in the casts of Smash Bros. or even Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl from the start, but MultiVersus still managed to make a huge impression when it first became available. With smart promotion that stretched from popular content creators to the game’s massive hundred thousand dollar prize pool at EVO 2022 provided by WB, the beginning of the game’s open beta featured record-breaking player counts.

The Accessibility of a Free-to-Play Live Service

The buy-in associated with fighting games can often be a barrier to entry, but the fact that MultiVersus was available for free set it apart in a way that attracted tens of thousands. It utilized rotating free playable characters in the vein of a title like League of Legends, with in-game currency available for purchase to be used for unlocking them permanently. Focusing on cosmetics along with this model has proven successful for several other free-to-play titles, but feedback towards MultiVersus began to change as updates became less substantial, leaving rewards feeling stagnant for many players ahead of the hiatus’ beginning.

MultiVersus’ Time Offline Has Only Made It Even Less Relevant

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An Ongoing Early Access Model Could Have Built a Strong Product

The choice to take the game down and come back with an improved version has its benefits, but it can also be argued that remaining available during this time instead could only have brought in more attention. Including obvious movie tie-ins like Black Adam and LeBron James in MultiVersus aligned with WB’s business at the time, but the character updates which sustain fighting games over time could have been implemented with more long-term consideration. If MultiVersus had been actively updated as an early access experience for all of this time instead of shutting down, there may have been several opportunities for hyped character launches and refinements to gameplay to revitalize awareness of the game.

A Chance to Start MultiVersus Fresh in “Early 2024” Awaits

The lack of news regarding the game’s upcoming relaunch has fans speculating that MultiVersus will return by April of this year, as anything beyond is no longer early. With no solid updates since last year, there’s a genuine sense of uncertainty among players, especially those players stuck with unusable microtransaction purchases. If WB truly intends to bring MultiVersus back to the heights it once reached and keep it there, the future strategy for the game needs to be one that isn’t afraid of a slower, more sustainable rise to success.

MultiVersus

Platform(s)Xbox Series X, PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox OneReleased2024-00-00Developer(s)Player First GamesPublisher(s)Warner Bros. InteractiveGenre(s)FightingESRBT For Teen See at Official SiteSee at SteamSee at Xbox Games StoreSee at Playstation Store