Warner Bros.’ crossover fighting game MultiVersus has officially been shut down and removed from all digital storefronts, making it completely unavailable to both new and existing players. This marks the end of a troubled journey for the platform fighter that featured characters from across Warner’s vast library of properties, including Batman, Bugs Bunny, Arya Stark, and LeBron James.
It's been an incredible ride, MVPs. Thank you for all the support. For more details, please visit our blog post https://t.co/tLVzpA9JaQ and FAQ https://t.co/XKuxAnd26j. pic.twitter.com/VLzBDbP0GQ
— MultiVersus (@multiversus) January 31, 2025
MultiVersus initially launched as an open beta in July 2022 to significant fanfare. The free-to-play title quickly garnered attention for its accessible gameplay and novel 2v2 focus, even winning “Best Fighting Game” at The Game Awards that year. However, player interest rapidly declined within the first few months due to content drought, balance issues, and growing concerns about monetization.
Warner Bros. and developer Player First Games took the game offline in 2023, categorizing the previous period as an “extended beta.” Players who had spent money on characters, battle passes, and cosmetics suddenly found themselves unable to access the content they had purchased, with no clear timeline for when the game would return.
When MultiVersus finally relaunched in 2024, it came with significant changes. The game had migrated to Unreal Engine 5, bringing noticeable alterations to gameplay that many veterans found slower and less responsive. The relaunch also introduced a more aggressive monetization scheme with multiple in-game currencies, expensive skins, and a progression system that felt deliberately designed to push players toward spending real money.
“The full version was generally worse than the beta,” noted one former player, highlighting how the year spent reworking the game seemed to focus more on monetization than improving the player experience. Character designs that were once praised for their uniqueness became criticized for being overly complicated, with multiple cooldowns and unintuitive controls making the game less accessible to casual players.
Despite featuring some of entertainment’s most recognizable characters, MultiVersus failed to maintain a healthy player base after its relaunch. The combination of gameplay changes, aggressive monetization, and the lingering bad taste from the “beta” shutdown created a perfect storm that the game couldn’t weather.
