Player First Games / Warner Bros. Games have announced that the Super Smash Bros.-like game MultiVersus is officially closing.
Technically, this is the second time it's being closed. It originally launched in 2022 in what they called a Beta, which they then closed in 2023, with a proper relaunch in May 2024. This time though it seems it's not going to be coming back, as they're pulling all online features and you will not be able to download it either (unless you already have it added to your library - it's a free to play game).
In a short and blunt announcement on Steam they said:
Season 5 will serve as the final seasonal content update for MultiVersus. As January 31, 2025, real money transactions are no longer available. Season 5 will begin on February 4, 2025, and run through May 30, 2025. All online features will continue to be available until Season 5 concludes on May 30, at which point MultiVersus will no longer be available to play online or download. Unused Gleamium and character tokens can be used to access and purchase content in-game until the end of Season 5 on May 30. To play MultiVersus offline after May 30, download the latest version of the game and log in during Season 5, between February 4 and May 30.
Going by SteamDB it doesn't have all that many players left. It's seen a steady decline after each time it was released and then re-released. While talking player numbers isn't always a useful thing, in this case it's a multiplayer-focused title so it seems fitting when you see that it had a 24 hour peak online player-count of only 648 players. Which would be mostly fine for a smaller game, but this was a game with major licensed characters.
According to IGN last year, taken from a financial call, "MultiVersus' failure had added another $100 million to the $200 million writedown the company's games business had already suffered earlier this year". Seems they had some seriously inflated expectations for this one.
At least for people who like it you'll still be able to play offline. MultiVersus works on Linux with Proton and is rated Playable on Steam Deck.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Another one bites the dust
They had to expect the other failure as well. A developer that is famous for several single player games where you play a certain famous character suddenly making a GaaS game where you kill that character. That sounds like a guarantee for success.
Caldathras 13 hours ago
However, the game uses Easy Anti-Cheat and requires a WB Games Account. With a 3rd-party account requirement, I can't be bothered.
If it was sold as a complete package with peer to peer online I think it could srill get a resurgence and cult audience.
Imagine spending $100m on a beat-em-up... Though I wonder how much of that money was burned on character licensing.
In a sane world wb games wouldn't pay a dime for wb characters. So if it was "burned" on licensing, that was done to move profits (not only from this game, obviously) to a subsidiary located in one of the many tax havens.
Last edited by emphy on 1 Feb 2025 at 4:14 am UTC
Linux_Rocks 2 hours ago
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