After a tepid fade out, WB Games’ MultiVersus is back, with developer Player First Games promising a more – ahem – player first approach. It’s going to be tricky for WB Games to navigate MultiVersus’ relaunch, and given the cutthroat nature of live service games as a whole there’s high chance this relaunch could fail. As it happens, player feedback to MultiVersus’ prior open beta period appears to be have been listened to, so there’s potential here for this relaunch to be a success. Here’s 15 things to know before you decide to dive back in.
What is it?
MultiVersus is the free-to-play cross-platform brawler from WB Games, comprising fighters drawn from the various gamut of WB property going toe-to-toe in exciting matchups. Any doubts preceding the release of its mid-2022 beta was swiftly forgotten; MultiVersus turned out to be a blast; the game hit 143,000 players day one on Steam, with WB Games boasting 20 million downloads during season one.
Why was it taken offline?
Well, things went downhill around the time of season two’s launch. Scepticism was burgeoning already due to MultiVersus’ monetisation tactics following a timed Halloween event whereby players had to compete in 780 matches to unlock everything on offer. Season two brought more paid cosmetics, and – most painful of all – XP that was worth half what it was before. Save for Marvin the Martian, no new characters emerged during this period. What we had on our hands was a grindy, unrewarding, content-light game, and players flew the nest. By June 2023 the game was taken offline to – quote – ‘retool it’, ready for relaunch.
What’s new?
For starters, MultiVersus is being completely rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, so at the least we can expect bolder graphics, dynamic lighting, and variable textures. Further changes expected include a steady stream of new characters, fresh arenas, new game modes; progression system updates; netcode improvements and enhancements to the matchmaking process. Should Player First Games and WB Games pull this off, ‘re-tooled’ might prove to be an understatement. Sounds auspiciously like MultiVersus has begun again, almost from square one.
New game modes and maps
So, going into a bit more detail, the new game mode that has been officially announced is a PvE mode. With bot battles, co-op versus AI, and arcade classic mode already a part of the MultiVersus open beta, PvE could be a story mode, or a vintage Street Fighter style battle against an abandoned car – who knows? Nothing has been shared thus far on how this PvE mode will take shape except that it will offer additional ways to play with unique rewards attached. More single player content will be well received so let’s hope this PvE mode will help MultiVersus stay afloat when it relaunches.
In terms of maps, we’ve not heard anything concrete from WB Games, but we have been treated to two pieces of concept art originating from 90s Cartoon Network; Dexter’s Laboratory and Townsville Hall from The Powerpuff Girls will likely be playable stages given glimpses of their likeness appearing in concept art.
Platforms and release date
MultiVersus will re-release to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, plus PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Its relaunch is currently scheduled for May 28th.
Crossplay
Yep, for anyone concerned crossplay won’t be enabled for MultiVersus’ relaunch need not worry for WB Games have confirmed that full crossplay and cross-progression will be enabled from day one following its re-release.
Does prior progress carry over?
Good news is all content earned before the open beta went offline in June 2023, including in-game currency, battle pass tokens, skins, and character tickets will carry over to this relaunched version. Now for the bad news: progress achieved, and content earned after the switch off last June will not carry over. See, during the downtime all online modes and associated features have been unavailable.
Netcode overview
How an online multiplayer feels during online play is paramount to its success. That’s why, once MultiVersus relaunches the dev team are promising a much smoother, more reliable experience centred on netcode that has been rebuilt from the ground up. Its prior incarnation relied too heavily on server power, but the problem with that is the greater distance you are from the server the less precise your inputs will be. With well implemented rollback netcode, opponents see exactly what the other is inputting with next-to-zero lag; animation frames match, character position is true – everyone benefits.
In-game currency
Gleamium is the optional currency available in MultiVersus and it can be earned in-game or via purchasing with real world money through your respective platform’s webstore. This in game currency can unlock tons of optional in-game content, from character skins to cosmetic accessories. WB Games have been clear to point out that following MultiVersus’ relaunch, purchasing Gleamium is completely optional and keeping your wallet or purse closed should not affect progress whatsoever. Fingers crossed this is true as player feedback – according to the developer – has been instrumental in the rebuilding process.
Battle pass overview
Much like it’s free-to-play peers, MultiVersus will include a battle pass. Prior to the June 2023 switch off, MultiVersus’ battle pass was a slog, a grindy unfun process which contributed to player count dropping off a cliff. Now, with this relaunched version battle passes will allow players to compete in optional challenges to earn in-game rewards. We say optional as this time around the battle pass is two-tier – a free version open to all players and a premium option which must be purchased. New battle passes are available at the start of each new season.
Purchase options
Another reason why many of you kicked MultiVersus into touch before its eventual shutdown was the perplexing decision to incorporate purchase tiers into the third season of a game that had already become extremely grindy – almost like this was a deliberate plan to get players onboard with a ‘play to win’ experience. Well, so far there are no announced purchase tiers for MultiVersus’ re-release. It’s free-to-play at the moment. Whether it’ll stay this way remains to be seen, but its another promising sign the dev team have taken player grievances into account.
Characters
You’ll surely know by now that Warner Brothers encompasses a wealth of distinct properties – Looney Tunes, DC superheroes, Cartoon Network, Game of Thrones, there’s a host of disparate IPs that, when combined, present quirky happenstance – like, why is Batman fighting Tom and Jerry? Anyway, this updated version is chock-full of mascots, but the team are promising more to come. We don’t know who’s incoming in this re-release, save for Samurai Jack who is heavily rumoured.
Character perks
Perks, for the uninitiated, are character buffs that are steadily unlocked through progress and can be equipped before each bout. These performance boosts are integral to performance, and whilst passive they are integral to strategy, especially when playing in 2v2. There’re numerous guides out there as to the best perks, so it’s best to appraise yourself of what they are if you’re planning to dive into MultiVersus after it’s relaunch.
Character classes
Every playable character in MultiVersus is classified by their fighting style. There’s the lightweight assassin class, melee-heavy bruisers, the range-equipped mage class, defensive support characters, and sluggish yet brutish tank characters. Furthermore, each character in MultiVersus is part of a tier list, with their placement depending on their effectiveness in battle, their power, movement capability, and versatility. Whilst you’d obviously expect S tier characters to overwhelm anyone, even the C tier characters can be capable of whooping the opposition in the right hands.
Character teams
Integral to 2v2 play is combining the right pair of characters to overwhelm the opposition. This is where the aforementioned classes and perks come into play. Combining a defensively compromised assassin with a brute force bruiser is expectantly prudent, but numerous characters – some unexpectedly – pair quite nicely. Synergy is king, and experimentation is encouraged.