MultiVersus | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Player First Games |
Publisher(s) | Warner Bros. Games |
Director(s) | Tony Huynh [1] |
Composer(s) |
|
Engine | Unreal Engine 4 (open beta) Unreal Engine 5 (launch) |
Platform(s) | |
Release | May 28, 2024 |
Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
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, [2] 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. [3] [4]
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. [5] [6] [7] While 1-vs-1 and free-for-all options are available, the game emphasizes battling in teams of two characters; [8] most attacks in the game are designed with this in mind, including other players passively strengthening the move's effect. The game initially launched without a ranked queue nor free-for-all, which was present in the open beta. Free-for-all was readded in a post-launch season 1 update, and ranked was readded with season 2. Season 3 added a "casual queue" mode, similar to the "Co-Op vs. AI" mode from the open beta, "Wacky Weekends", where the aforementioned Rift mutators are applied to PvP, and "Testing Grounds", where new gameplay mechanics, like shields, are trialed for addition in future updates. Season 4 added an Arena game mode.
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. In the open beta, perks' effects were enhanced if players on the same team both equipped them; in the final release, only select perks have this effect.
While MultiVersus is primarily a PvP game, its full release saw the introduction of the Rifts PvE game mode. Rifts each have their own narrative and consist of nodes with different mutators that affect gameplay. Most nodes are composed of battles and conclude with a boss fight, but some nodes will offer different types of gameplay. Players can equip Gems, which can be levelled up either through gameplay or through Gleamium. Gems have three different types: Defense, Attack and Utility, and they will only activate if the Rift's theme matches that of the currently-selected Gems. Completing nodes will grant rewards to the party, with an additional reward unlocked depending on how much stars were earned throughout.
MultiVersus features four currencies: 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. Previously, Fighter Currency and Gold were obtainable currencies before being superceded.
Both Fighter Currency and Perk Currency are obtained by playing the game. They are frequently obtained from mission objectives, special events, 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, and completing the battle pass rewards enough for the following season's pass. [9] Gleamium can still be obtained for free from the free battle pass, leveling up a character to level 15, rewards from certain events, and logging in during specific days. Prestige points are obtained by collecting cosmetic items and can be used to purchase exclusive items from the Prestige Store. Perk Currency can only be used to unlock character Perks.
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 or currencies 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. Fighter Currency, which was used to purchase characters, was used in the first three seasons of the full launch. It was retired with season four and replaced with "Fighter Road", which allows players to grind experience to unlock characters, while remaining Fighter Currency will be kept in players' inventory.
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 (up until season three), 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. The highest battle pass level with an obtainable item is level 70, where players unlock a unique variant for the character that launched alongside it. Levels 71 and later grant players a random currency. Season four introduces a change to battle passes: with characters being unlocked through "Fighter Road", characters are no longer given as part of the battle pass, and two passes will be made available throughout the season. Levels are now capped at 45, with level 46 onward rewarding a random currency.
Toasts are obtainable through Gleamium, logging in, daily missions, the in-game store, or by getting "toasted". Toasting other players will give them 5 Fighter Currency (previously Gold in the open beta).
MultiVersus launched with 26 playable characters. As of December 2024 [update] , this has been expanded to 33. [10] 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 [11] —and are best suited for covering a specific direction, these being horizontal, vertical, or hybrid. [11] A fifth class, Support, was present only in the open beta, which consisted of Gizmo, Reindog, Steven Universe, and Velma. Characters are obtainable through Fighter Road (from Season 4 onward), Fighter Currency, Gleamium, special currencies, the first tier of the Battle Pass (from season one of full launch to season three), special bundles, or Character Tickets (which were obtainable through the Founders' Pack).
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. [12] [13] As of Season 4, characters are unlocked through Fighter Road, where players can unlock one character at a time through progression and earning XP, though the ability to purchase characters is still available. The open beta initially launched with 17 characters, with new characters regularly introduced in subsequent updates.
The game is developed by Player First Games (PFG). [2] [6] [7] 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. [8] The game held a closed alpha test from February 25 to March 8, 2022. [29]
Prior to its announcement in November 2021, rumors of the game surfaced from multiple sources. [8] 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 , [30] [31] 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. [32] The image was deleted after Warner Bros. submitted a DMCA takedown request, which DeBiedma stated was a "hard confirm" of the photograph's veracity. [33] [34] 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. [35] Internal game design documents for the game were leaked on ResetEra. [36] [37] [38] Following the tech test, gameplay footage was leaked online. [39]
On May 26, 2022, a subsequent leak revealed additional playable characters, including Daenerys Targaryen and Ted Lasso. [40]
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. [41] During the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con event, Rick Sanchez, Morty Smith and LeBron James were announced as playable characters. [42] The open beta was released on July 26, 2022, serving as a soft launch for the game. [43] [44] 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. [45]
During the open beta, Bugs Bunny players held the number-one ranked slot in both 1-v-1 and 2-v-2 leaderboards. [46] The character's prevalence among top-ranked 2-v-2 players was notable, [46] leading to changes to Bugs' abilities and those of Wonder Woman implemented after EVO 2022. [47] [48] During and after the open beta, various characters' abilities have been frequently modified; [49] notably, a police car featured in one of Velma Dinkley's abilities was replaced with the Mystery Machine. [50]
MultiVersus' first season was originally scheduled to launch on August 9, 2022, but was delayed to August 15. [51] [52] The game's second and final season during open beta launched on November 15. [53]
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. [54] This was despite PFG's prior statement, which read, "MultiVersus hits Open Beta on July 26 and then we're here to stay." [55] Offline functionality was retained during the downtime, but the game was made unobtainable for new players. [56]
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 rebuilt the game in Unreal Engine 5 to support better netcode and visuals, [57] however as a result of the switch many features that existed in the open beta went missing or weren't fully complete, with promises made for those to be re-implemented down the line. [58] Such instances of missing features included ranked matchmaking, a free-for-all PvP mode, and post-match stats, all of which returned in post-launch updates.
In July 2024, Player First Games was acquired by Warner Bros. Games. [59]
This section needs expansionwith: more reviews of the full game release. You can help by adding to it. (October 2024) |
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | (PC) 75/100 [60] (PS5) 76/100 [61] (XSXS) 75/100 [62] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Game Informer | 8/10 [63] |
GameSpot | 8/10 [64] |
Hardcore Gamer | 4.5/5 [65] |
IGN | 8/10 [66] |
PC Gamer (US) | 78/100 [67] |
PCMag | 3/5 [68] |
Push Square | 8/10 [69] |
Shacknews | 7/10 [70] |
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. [71]
The game topped the American sales charts for July 2022, [72] falling to number 5 the following month. [73] It was the most downloaded game on the US PlayStation Store for the same month, and number 2 in Europe. [74] It also topped the sales charts in Australia. [75] It was the most popular title on the Steam Deck platform. [76]
By August 2022, the game had reached 10 million players. [77] By September, it had reached 20 million. [78] 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. [79] 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. [80] 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. [79] [81]
Of the re-release, Kotaku said that the "joy is propped up by a dumpster fire full of free-to-play, service gaming tropes, some so poorly thought out or predatory that it’s shocking they made it out the gate at all". They concluded that "some forces behind these kinds of games are always ready to push the boundaries on monetization. It feels wrong, ethically, to participate in, and especially to recommend this game to others." [82] The game was further criticized for how certain variants were released, as players were incentivized into purchasing them with real-world currencies and had limited options to obtain them in other ways. [83]
In June 2024 the game again topped the free game download charts in North America and Europe. [84] In November 2024, Warner Bros. Games stated that the game "significantly underperformed". [85]
Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022 | Golden Joystick Awards | Best Multiplayer Game | Nominated | [86] |
The Game Awards 2022 | Best Multiplayer Game | Nominated | [87] | |
Best Fighting Game | Won | |||
2023 | 26th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Fighting Game of the Year | Won | [88] [89] |
2024 | The Game Awards 2024 | Best Fighting Game | Nominated | [90] |
Sonic the Fighters, also known as Sonic Championship, is a 1996 three-dimensional fighting video game from Sega. The game, developed by Sega AM2 and built on their Model 2 arcade system, pits players in one-on-one battles with a roster of characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Sonic the Fighters was made using the fighting engine for Fighting Vipers (1995), and it was the first 3D game in the Sonic series; the idea for a Sonic fighting game was conceived when a Sega AM2 programmer experimented with a 3D Sonic the Hedgehog model in Fighting Vipers, its animation impressing and convincing the Sonic Team to approve the project.
Johnny Cage is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action movie star with an extensive martial arts background. The series depicts Cage as one of the primary heroes defending Earthrealm from various threats, as well as the comic foil. In the first rebooted timeline, Cage is also the love interest of Special Forces officer Sonya Blade and the father of their daughter Cassie. He is inspired by martial arts star Jean-Claude Van Damme, particularly Van Damme's character, Frank Dux, in the 1988 film Bloodsport. A staple of the franchise, Cage has appeared in various media outside of the games.
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter is a 1997 crossover fighting video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sequel to X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996) and the second installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. After its release on arcades, it received ports to the Sega Saturn in 1998 and the PlayStation in 1999.
Kenshi Takahashi is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. He makes his series debut in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002) as a blind swordsman and Special Forces operative. In addition to his sword skills, he possesses telekinetic abilities.
Super Smash Bros. is a crossover platform fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objective which differs from that of traditional fighters, in that the aim is to increase damage counters and knock opponents off the stage instead of depleting life bars.
Digimon Rumble Arena is a 2001 fighting video game developed and published by Bandai. It is part of a video game series connected to the Digimon franchise and showcases the titular creatures within the context of a fighting video game. The player controls one of several Digimon and engages in combat with other Digimon within a variety of settings. Apart from the central fighting gameplay, a trio of mini-games are available upon the single-player campaign's completion.
Super Mario is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario franchise. At least one Super Mario game has been released for every major Nintendo video game console. However, there have also been a number of Super Mario video games released on non-Nintendo gaming platforms. There are more than 20 games in the series.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a 2008 crossover fighting game developed by Sora Ltd. and Game Arts and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, it was announced at a pre-E3 2005 press conference by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Masahiro Sakurai, director of the previous two games in the series, assumed the role of director at Iwata's request. Game development began in October 2005 with a creative team that included members from several Nintendo and third-party development teams. After delays due to development problems, the game was released worldwide in 2008.
Artix Entertainment, LLC is an independent video game developer and publisher founded by Adam Bohn in October 2002. It is best known for creating browser-based role-playing video games—including AdventureQuest, DragonFable, MechQuest, and AdventureQuest Worlds—using Adobe Flash. Following the end of life of Adobe Flash Player in 2021, Artix developed a standalone launcher for personal computers that includes many of the company's popular Flash-based games, most of which continue to receive content updates.
Marvel Super Hero Squad Online was a massively multiplayer free-to-play online game for younger audiences based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad, developed by American video game companies the Amazing Society and Gazillion Entertainment. The open beta version of the game was released on April 29, 2011. It was a freemium in-browser game that offered two types of microtransactions: To purchase in-game currency, or a monthly subscription that gave the player additional perks.
Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion is a 2011 crossover fighting video game developed by Papaya Studio and published by Crave Games, for the Nintendo 3DS. It features characters from various Cartoon Network programs battling against one another. The game was released in June 2011 in North America and in April 2012 in Europe. An upgraded port, Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL, was released for the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 less than a year later.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, both commonly referred to together as Super Smash Bros. 4 or Smash 4, are 2014 crossover platform fighter video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U video game consoles. It is the fourth installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, succeeding Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Nintendo 3DS version was released in Japan on September 13, 2014, and in North America, Europe, and Australia the following month. The Wii U version was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in November 2014 and in Japan the following month.
F.E.A.R. is a first-person shooter psychological horror video game series created by Craig Hubbard in 2005. Released on Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, there are three main games in the series; F.E.A.R. (2005), F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009), and F.E.A.R. 3 (2011). There are also two standalone expansion packs for the first game; F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (2006) and F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (2007), but these games are no longer considered canon, as their plots were ignored in Project Origin and F.E.A.R. 3. In 2014, F.E.A.R. Online, a free-to-play game, was released, but the servers were shut down in 2015 with the game still in open beta. Monolith Productions developed the original game and Project Origin; Day 1 Studios developed F.E.A.R. 3; TimeGate Studios developed Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate; Inplay Interactive developed F.E.A.R. Online. Initially, the series' publishing rights were owned by Vivendi Games, who published the original game and the two expansions under the Sierra Entertainment label. In 2008, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment acquired the publishing rights and went on to publish Project Origin and F.E.A.R. 3. Aeria Games published F.E.A.R. Online under license from Warner.
Injustice 2 is a 2017 fighting video game. It is the sequel to 2013's Injustice: Gods Among Us and the second installment in the Injustice series which is based on the DC Universe. It is developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game was initially released in May 2017 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One; a Windows version was released later in November 2017. An expanded version of the game, titled Injustice 2: Legendary Edition, was released in March 2018 for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. Similar to the previous installment, a companion mobile app was released for Android and iOS devices. A prequel comic book series of the same name, written by Tom Taylor, was also released beginning in April 2017.
The Piranha Plant, known as Pakkun Flower in Japan, is a fictional plant species from Nintendo's Mario franchise media. It usually appears as a leafy green stalk topped with a white-spotted red or green globe, with a maw lined with sharp teeth reminiscent of piranhas. Piranha Plants are typically portrayed as tethered enemies which emerge from green-coloured "warp pipes" scattered throughout the game world that player characters must evade or overcome, though multiple subspecies with different abilities as well as physical attributes have appeared in various titles: some may simply stick up from the ground, and in some cases even walk freely on its own roots.
Guilty Gear Strive is a fighting video game developed and published by Arc System Works. It is the seventh mainline installment of the Guilty Gear series, and the 25th overall. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows in June 2021, for Japanese arcades in July 2021, and for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in March 2023, with a Nintendo Switch port scheduled for a January 2025 release.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a 2024 action-adventure shooter game developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Games. Based on the DC Comics team Suicide Squad, it is a spin-off of the Batman: Arkham series, and a follow-up to Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). Set five years after the events of Arkham Knight, the game's storyline follows the titular supervillain team, who are assembled by Amanda Waller and sent to Metropolis to stop the alien invader Brainiac and kill the members of the Justice League who fell under his influence.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a 2021 crossover fighting game developed by Ludosity and Fair Play Labs, and published by GameMill Entertainment. It is part of the Nickelodeon Super Brawl series of browser games and mobile games, serving as its first console game. Featuring characters from various Nickelodeon animated television series, the game was released on October 5, 2021, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A sequel, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, released in 2023.
Street Fighter 6 is a 2023 fighting game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sixth main entry in the Street Fighter franchise, following Street Fighter V (2016), and was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S, while an arcade version, named Street Fighter 6 Type Arcade, was published by Taito for Japanese arcade cabinets later.
It is set to release in 2022 for consoles and PC, and will be free-to-play.