Over 150,000 players played the Free2Play fighting game MultiVersus at release. Popular DC and Warner characters enthusiastically beat each other up for victory. Half a year later, hardly anyone is playing. What happened?
What kind of game is this? In MultiVersus, you play as popular comic and cartoon heroes like Harley Quinn, Batman, Jake & Finn, or Tom & Jerry in arenas against other players. The gameplay is similar to Super Smash Bros.: You beat your opponents down and try to knock them off the stage.
The Free2Play approach and especially the ability to play such a fighting game on PC with crossplay have made MultiVersus the best fighting game in a long time.
The beta release on July 26 was also exceptionally successful. Tens of thousands were drawn in just on Steam – plus additional players on PlayStation and Xbox. Sony even included MultiVersus in the top 10 of the most popular Free2Play games in 2022. However, the current status is much bleaker.
This is how MultiVersus is doing right now: As the statistics website steamcharts reveals, MultiVersus, as of February 16, 2023, has lost the vast majority of its players:
- from 153,044 peak players in July 2022 to 1,524 in the last 30 days (-99 %)
- from 66,920 average players in July 2022 to 824 in the last 30 days (-98 %)
- the ratings have fallen from 93 % at release to 63 % recently
After only 7 months, almost all players have disappeared on Steam. We cannot make any statements about the data on PlayStation and Xbox.
Here’s the gameplay trailer for MultiVersus:
Delayed season, missing content
Why are players leaving? MultiVersus faced strong balance issues at release. Characters like Bugs Bunny absolutely dominated and spoiled the fun for some players.
What has been criticized more frequently in reviews and on social media lately is the content of recent times – or rather their absence, as discussed on reddit:
- Season 1 brought 5 new characters: Rick, Morty, Gizmo, Stripe, and Black Adam
- In Season 2, which has been running since November 2022, only Marvin the Martian has been added so far
- Season 3, which was supposed to start already, has been postponed to the end of March
Additionally, there is criticism of the shop. While it mainly includes cosmetics, these can become quite expensive at around €15. However, the biggest problem according to reviews remains the balancing.
With over 1,000 players, MultiVersus on Steam is not completely dead yet, especially since some from consoles are likely to join. However, if the trend continues downward, it looks bleak.
If you are still looking for something to play, there is currently an excellent deal:
25 games on Steam that normally cost €440 are now available for €25 – Most run on Steam Deck as well
