MultiVersus

Lore & Background

MultiVersus was officially announced in November 2021 following online rumors and leaks. Early access and open beta versions ran from July 2022 to June 2023, after which the game re-entered development until its full release on May 28, 2024. New characters and stages were added until the beginning of Season 5 on January 31, 2025. The game was delisted and its servers permanently closed on May 30, 2025, though offline modes remained playable.

Reader's Guide

MultiVersus received mixed reviews and was a commercial failure after initial success. Its open beta was praised for team-oriented gameplay, presentation, and faithfulness to represented franchises, with minor criticism for microtransactions. Upon full release, criticism intensified over aggressive monetization, including time-limited cosmetics, and technical issues. The game featured a perk system, Rifts PvE mode, and multiple currencies including Gleamium and Fighter Currency. It launched with 26 playable characters, expanding to 35 by shutdown. The battle pass system evolved over seasons, with changes to character unlocking via the Fighter Road system introduced in Season 4. Despite its short lifespan, MultiVersus demonstrated the challenges of monetizing a free-to-play crossover fighting game in a competitive market.

Did You Know?

• The game's open beta ran from July 2022 to June 2023 before re-entering development.
• The game featured a character named Reindog that was original to MultiVersus.

A Turbulent Path from Leak to Launch

MultiVersus first surfaced in public consciousness in November 2021, when Warner Bros. Games and Player First Games officially confirmed the title after a wave of online rumors and leaks had already stirred anticipation. Rather than moving straight to a full launch, the team opted for an extended open beta window spanning July 2022 through June 2023, giving players a prolonged period to test the crossover brawler. After that beta concluded, the project slipped back into development for roughly a year before finally arriving on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on May 28, 2024. The post-launch period saw a steady stream of new characters and stages rolling out through the seasons, with content additions continuing until the start of Season 5 on January 31, 2025. Yet the game's story ended abruptly: on May 30, 2025, MultiVersus was delisted from storefronts and its online servers were shut down permanently, leaving only the offline modes as a playable remnant of what had been a high-profile Warner Bros. crossover project.

Built for Two: Cooperative Combat and Seasonal Evolution

At its core, MultiVersus is a platform fighter where the goal is to accumulate enough damage to send opponents flying past the edge of the stage. What distinguishes it from the genre's solo-focused predecessors is a deep architectural commitment to two-player team combat. Most attacks are engineered with a partner in mind, and a passive system means that simply fighting alongside a teammate can amplify a move's impact. The game launched without the free-for-all mode or ranked queue that had been available during the open beta, both of which were restored in Season 1 and Season 2 respectively. Season 3 broadened the menu further with a casual queue, a Wacky Weekends mode applying Rift mutators to competitive play, and a Testing Grounds sandbox for trialing mechanics like shields. Season 4 introduced Arena, a 2v2 format pitting players against AI opponents, where fighters are randomly drawn from a pool of eight and players invest in self-buffing upgrades. A perk system layers passive abilities onto characters, with Signature Perks tied to specific fighters and, in select cases, granting bonus effects when both teammates equip the same perk.

Rifts, Gems, and the Narrative PvE Layer

While MultiVersus is fundamentally a player-versus-player experience, its full release introduced a substantial single-player-focused mode called Rifts. Each Rift carries its own narrative thread and is structured as a series of nodes, most of which consist of combat encounters that culminate in a boss fight, though some nodes deviate into alternative gameplay types. A defining mechanic is the mutator system: each node applies modifiers that alter how battles unfold, keeping repeated runs feeling distinct. Players equip Gems—categorized into Defense, Attack, and Utility—that can be leveled up through gameplay progression or by spending Gleamium. Crucially, a Gem only activates if its thematic alignment matches the Rift currently being played, adding a layer of strategic preparation before entering a run. Clearing nodes yields rewards for the entire party, and the quantity of stars earned throughout a Rift determines whether an additional reward tier is unlocked, creating a risk-and-reward structure that rewards thorough, well-prepared teams.

Four Currencies, One Aggressive Wallet

MultiVersus's economy was built around four distinct currencies, each serving a separate purpose. Perk Currency, earned through regular play, unlocked character-specific passive abilities. Gleamium functioned as the premium layer, purchasable with real money but also drip-fed through the free battle pass, character level milestones, events, and login rewards; it bought cosmetic variants, taunts, banners, ringout effects, announcer packs, and the premium battle pass. Prestige points accumulated by collecting cosmetic items and were spent in a dedicated Prestige Store for exclusive goods. Toasts, a social currency, let players congratulate one another. The system evolved significantly over the game's life: the open beta's Gold currency was converted into Perk Currency at launch, and the Fighter Currency that unlocked characters through Seasons 1 to 3 was retired in Season 4 in favor of the Fighter Road experience-grinding system. The battle pass itself split into a free Normal tier and a Gleamium-priced Premium tier, both funded by daily and seasonal missions. Critics, however, flagged the monetization as aggressive, particularly the inclusion of time-limited cosmetics, a complaint that grew louder as the game transitioned from well-received beta to full release.

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