MultiVersus

MultiVersus (MVS) is a free-to-play crossover fighting game developed by Player First Games and published by Warner Bros. Games for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A platform fighter, the game features content from Warner Bros. franchises, including Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Game of Thrones, the DC Universe, and Cartoon Network franchises. Officially announced in November 2021 following online rumors and leaks, early access and open beta versions of the game ran from July 2022 to June 2023. The game was fully released on May 28, 2024.

Gameplay


MultiVersus is a platform fighter, with players battling on different stages and attempting to knock the opponent beyond the stage's boundary by dealing sufficient damage. While 1-vs-1 and free-for-all options are available, the game emphasizes battling in teams of two characters; most attacks in the game are designed with this in mind, including other players passively strengthening the move's effect.

MultiVersus features a perk system, which allows players to customize their characters with passive abilities that will also affect their partners in Teams. These include Signature Perks, which are exclusive to a respective character and directly affect their attributes and abilities. If players in the same team equip the same perks, those perks' effects are enhanced.

While MultiVersus is primarily a PvP game, its full release saw the addition of a "Rifts" PvE game mode. Each Rift has a story element to them and are made up of nodes with different "mutators" which can change the fight's scenario. Most nodes are composed of battles and conclude with a boss fight, but some nodes will offer different types of gameplay. Players can equip power-ups called "gems", which can be levelled up either through gameplay or through Gleamium. Gems have three different types, Defense, Attack and Utility, and will only activate if the Rift's theme matches those of the currently-selected Gems. Completing Rifts will grant rewards to the player.

Currencies and Battle Pass
MultiVersus features five currencies: Fighter Currency, which is used to purchase characters; Perk Currency, which is used to buy perks; Gleamium, a premium currency that can be used to buy variants, taunts, banners, profile icons, ringout effects, announcer packs and premium battle passes in addition to characters; Prestige, which is used to buy items in the Prestige Store; and Toasts, used to congratulate other players.

Both Fighter Currency and Perk Currency are obtained by playing the game. They are frequently obtained from mission objectives, rift levels, given out as daily login rewards, obtained in both versions of the battlepass, being "toasted", and earned by leveling up characters and the player's profile. Gleamium is far rarer to find via gameplay but is purchasable with real-world currencies. Gleamium can still be obtained for free from the free battle pass, leveling up a character to level 15, and logging in during specific days. Prestige points are obtained by collecting cosmetic items.

The Gold currency was present in the open beta and could be obtained while playing the game through various means. During certain events, specific tokens were earned by playing in any mode and playing with specific character variants doubles the amount. These currencies were then used to purchase cosmetic items or, during certain events, traded for Gold, with 10 Gold for every 500 units of a specific token. All unused Gold after the open beta ended was converted into Perk Currency.

The Battle Pass contains two tiers: Normal, which is free for all players; and Premium, which requires Gleamium to purchase. In both tiers, players earn points by completing daily and seasonal missions. Obtainable items include currencies, characters (from the full launch onward), gem boosters, in-game cosmetics like variants and taunts, and profile cosmetics such as icons and banners. Progress in both tiers is tied; if the Premium tier is purchased after progress is made on the Normal tier, all rewards will retroactively be obtained. Individual tiers can be purchased with Gleamium.

Toasts are obtainable through Gleamium, logging in, daily missions or by getting "toasted". Toasting other players will give them 5 Fighter Currency (previously Gold in the open beta).

Playable characters
, MultiVersus features 29 playable characters. With one exception, Reindog, these characters originate from Warner Bros. franchises. Voice acting is prominently emphasized, and several voice actors reprise their respective roles from other media. Characters can be any one of four classes—Assassin, Bruiser, Mage/Ranged and Tank —and are best suited for covering a specific direction, these being horizontal, vertical, or hybrid. A fifth class, Support, was present only in the open beta, which consisted of Gizmo, Reindog, Steven Universe, and Velma.

Every character has at least one playable variant, some of which have different voice actors or dialogue from the default variant. Characters can be unlocked through gameplay, or purchased using Gleamium, Fighter Currency, or Character Tickets included with the Founder's Pack content packages; four specific characters are also playable for all users on a rotating basis. The open beta initially launched with 17 characters, with new characters regularly introduced in subsequent updates.

Development
The game is developed by Player First Games (PFG). Dedicated servers, rollback netcode, and voice acting have been promoted as prominent features, and the team intend to release new content and characters via constant updates. The game held a closed alpha test from February 25 – March 8, 2022.

Background
Prior to its announcement in November 2021, rumors of the game surfaced from multiple sources. Initially, a user on the subreddit r/GamingLeaksandRumours claimed that the game was in development as early as 2019 following the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Warner Bros.' acknowledgement of the Ultra Instinct Shaggy internet meme. The user also claimed that the idea of a crossover influenced the filming of Space Jam: A New Legacy, although the validity of these claims is uncertain.

On October 27, 2021, professional Super Smash Bros. player Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma shared an image on Twitter showing what he alleged was the character selection screen for MultiVersus. The image was deleted after Warner Bros. submitted a DMCA takedown request, which DeBiedma stated was a "hard confirm" of the photograph's veracity. The image included Gandalf and Rick Sanchez as playable characters in place of Arya Stark and Garnet, and Superman and Steven Universe's designs were updated to be shown in the trailer. Jeff Grubb, a gaming insider, confirmed that LeBron James would feature in the game. Internal game design documents for the game were leaked on ResetEra. Following the tech test, gameplay footage was leaked online.

On May 26, 2022, a subsequent leak revealed additional playable characters, including Daenerys Targaryen and Ted Lasso.

Early access and open beta
An early access version was released on July 19 for participants of selected events, including the game's closed playtests and those competing in the game's first 2v2 tournament at the 2022 Evolution Championship Series, and via Twitch's Drops reward system and purchasable founder's packs. During the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con event, Rick Sanchez, Morty Smith and LeBron James were announced as playable characters. The open beta was released on July 26, 2022, serving as a soft launch for the game. Throughout the open beta, a Founder's Pack paid-DLC was sold through Steam, the Epic Games Store, the Microsoft Store, and the PlayStation Store. It was available in Standard, Deluxe, and Premium editions.

During the open beta, Bugs Bunny players held the number-one ranked slot in both 1-v-1 and 2-v-2 leaderboards. The character's prevalence among top-ranked 2-v-2 players was notable, leading to changes to Bugs' abilities and those of Wonder Woman implemented after EVO 2022. During and after the open beta, various characters' abilities have been frequently modified; notably, a police car featured in one of Velma Dinkley's abilities was replaced with the Mystery Machine.

MultiVersus ' first season was originally scheduled to launch on August 9, 2022, but was delayed to August 15. The game's second and final season during open beta launched on November 15.

On March 27, 2023, it was announced that the open beta would end on June 25, and the game would go offline in preparation for a full launch on May 28, 2024. This was despite PFG's prior statement, which read, "MultiVersus hits Open Beta on July 26 and then we’re here to stay." Offline functionality was retained during the downtime, but the game was made unobtainable for new players.

Full game launch
In March 2024, it was announced that MultiVersus would relaunch on May 28, 2024, for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. It will feature full cross-play and cross-progression support, and include a new PvE game mode. For the full launch, Player First Games moved the game to Unreal Engine 5.

Reception
The game received generally positive reviews during its open beta. IGN wrote "MultiVersus may not be a must-play at social gatherings, but its refreshing team-based battles make it a great platform fighter online." Play summarized that it was "full of love for the characters, and crunchy to play, you owe it to yourself to give this a go – though the monetisation methods are off-putting."

Its launch on Steam was the most successful for a WB Games title, and the biggest launch for a fighting game released on the platform.

The game topped the American sales charts for July 2022, falling to number 5 the following month. It was the most downloaded game on the US PlayStation Store for the same month, and number 2 in Europe. It also topped the sales charts in Australia. It was the most popular title on the Steam Deck platform.

By August 2022, the game had reached 10 million players. By September, it had reached 20 million. By February 2023, the game experienced a significant drop in daily players, which a Kotaku article attributed to a lack of updates and new characters. Trackers for the Steam version reported an average daily peak of roughly 1,300 players over the last 30 days, marking the title's lowest player count since launch. The announcement of the closure of the open beta surprised players who believed that the game was already fully released and had paid for premium content.