The game director of MultiVersus, Tony Huynh, has publicly addressed the "threats to harm" developers following the announcement that the game will shut down in May. Player First Games revealed last week that Season 5 would mark the end of the Warner Bros. brawler, just a year after its relaunch. Players can still access all their earned and purchased content offline through local and training modes.
While real-money transactions have ceased, players can use Gleamium and character tokens to access in-game content until May 30. At that time, MultiVersus will be removed from digital stores including the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store.
The announcement, coupled with the lack of a refund policy, led to backlash from players, particularly those who had purchased the $100 premium Founder's Pack. Many felt "scammed" and expressed frustration over now-useless character tokens, given they had already unlocked all available characters. This has resulted in MultiVersus being review-bombed on Steam.
In response, Tony Huynh, co-founder of Player First Games and game director of MultiVersus, shared a heartfelt statement on X/Twitter. He expressed gratitude to Warner Bros. Games, the developers, IP holders, and the players, emphasizing the team's dedication and the sadness surrounding the game's closure. Huynh also addressed the threats of violence, condemning such actions and urging the community to take a step back during this challenging time.
Huynh's statement highlighted the collaborative nature of Player First Games, the inspiration behind character creation like BananaGuard, and the team's efforts to listen and improve the game despite time and resource constraints. He hoped that players would enjoy Season 5 and continue supporting other platform fighter and fighting games.
Community manager and game developer Angelo Rodriguez Jr. defended Huynh on X/Twitter, emphasizing the team's commitment and the inappropriateness of threats against Huynh. Rodriguez stressed the sleepless nights and dedication Huynh and the team had shown, urging the community to appreciate the effort put into the game.
MultiVersus' shutdown adds to Warner Bros. Games' recent challenges, following the troubled launch of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The financial impact of these failures was significant, with Suicide Squad contributing a $200 million loss and MultiVersus adding another $100 million. Warner Bros. Discovery's only new game release in Q3 2024, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, also failed to make a significant impact.
In a financial call, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav acknowledged the underperformance of their games business and announced a focus on four key franchises: Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC, particularly Batman. This strategic shift aims to improve their success ratio, with new projects like a sequel to Hogwarts Legacy and the VR game Batman: Arkham Shadow already in development.
