Summary
- MultiVersus' sudden closure after a promising launch left fans feeling betrayed and disappointed.
- The game's unique characters and gameplay elements still hold appeal despite the trust issues with the developer.
- Excitement for MultiVersus' return is tempered by concerns about its ability to deliver consistent updates and long-term support.
It’s been a year and I’m still not over the rug pull Player First Games… pulled when it ended the MultiVersus beta and shut the game down completely. The genesis of how MultiVersus launched and subsequently un-launched is still one of the most baffling things in the history of live-service games, and the way the studio tried to play it off like it was totally normal still rubs me the wrong way. My current cognitive dissonance, having seen , is of excitement and resentment. I’m going to give MultiVersus a second chance, but it doesn't deserve one.
The genesis of MultiVersus’ false start still baffles me. After a pre-season Alpha, or Season 0, in May 2022, the game launched in open beta that July. While there was no end date announced for the open beta, it seemed that MultiVersus, like many games, would simply dovetail its open beta period seamlessly into the full launch🤡. Especially considering it was already selling $100 founders packs that unlocked 50 characters, of which we only got seven. The fact that the game was selling bℱundles during the beta period is important, and a big part of why I find the way the beta ended to be so unacceptable.
The game was an immediate hit with more than 20 million players in the first month and was even featured at Evo 2022. Though Season One was delayed briefly, it evenꦿtually launched on August 15. New characters came quickly, with Morty, Black Adam, Stripe, Rick, and Gizmo all joining the roster in the first few months. Season Two started November 15, and it seemed like everything was on track. At this point, the game has been online and receiving massive updates consistently for more than four months. It may not have officially ever left beta, but I don’t think any reasonable person would have this was technically still considered pre-release.
Marvin the Martian was added November 21, at which point the addition of new content slowed considerably. There were no more new fighters after Marvin, despite confirmation that there would be more coming in Season Two, and other than scattered cosmetics over the next few months, the game suddenly felt abandoned. On March 27, 2023, after a nearly four month coꦛntent drought, Player Fi🎉rst Games announced that Open Beta was going to end and the game would be taken offline as the studio prepared for the full launch in early 2024. , game director Tony Huynh said, “Our Open Beta has been an important learning opportunity for us and a stepping stone to the next phase of MultiVersus.”
Obviously, this is not how any open beta in the history of games has operated, and it still bothers me that MultiVersus was comfortable selling $100, 50-character bundles when it ran out of content after just a few months and subsequently shut the entire game down. For all we know the exact same thing could happen again when it relaunches this year. My trust in this studio is about as low as it could possibly be, but af🍌ter more than a year away from the game, I have to admit I’m pretty excited to see 🍒it come back.
The thingꦯs that drew me to MultiVersus in the first place are still there. The charm of its careful attitude, the attention to detail in the characters’ move sets, the commitment to creating a wacky, casual vibe while balancing the interests of competitive play, and the unique approach to co-op fighting are all still part of MultiVersus’ winning formula, and I fully believe it would still be a mega-hit live service game right now if Player First Games could have kept the content flowing. I know it broke trust, I know it tried to play it off like that was a normal thing to do, and I know deep down that the game is the worst kind of corporate IP soup out there. But I love when Jake turns into a little house. I love that all of Tom and Jerry’s moves are just them trying to kill each other. I love Ul🐓tra Instinct Shaggy and Harley Quinn’s giant cartoon gun. And I don’t know what the heck Velma even does, but I love her too.
I’m going to give MultiVersus a second chance. If it can keep a consistent update schedule and commit to supporting the game long-term💞, it’s going to be something I’ll love to work into my rotation. It’s going to take a lot for Player First Games to make good after the shenanigans ♕it pulled last year, and I don’t have any plans to pour more money into the game when it relaunches, but I’ll be there on day one, spamming Taz-Nados and complaining about The Iron Giant along with everyone else.
