After an extended open beta followed by an equally extended hiatus, MultiVersus returned earlier this year with a full release, though WB Games’ free-to-play Super Smash Bros.-inspired platform fighter has failed to land with the sort of commercial impact that the company had hoped.
As reported by IGN, during the company’s recent quarterly earnings call, it was revealed that MultiVersus has not only underperformed, it has underperformed so poorly that it has contributed to an additional $100 million loss for WB Games, adding to the heavy losses the company had already incurred earlier in the year due to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
“We recognise [the games business] is substantially underperforming its potential right now,” said Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels added, “We took another $100 million plus impairment due to the underperforming releases, primarily MultiVersus this quarter, bringing total writedown year-to-date to over $300 million in our games business, a key factor in this year’s studio profit decline.”
Following its heavy losses, WB Games will double down on four core franchises in the form of Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, Batman, and Game of Thrones. Read more on that through here.
MultiVersus is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Read our review of the game through here. Shortly after the game’s launch, it was announced in July that developer Player First Games had been acquired by WB Games.
