Warner Bros. crossover fighting game MultiVersus will officially relaunch on May 28th after going offline for nearly a year.
The company announced the news in a new video featuring game director Tony Huynh. In it, Huynh talks about how developer Player First Games (PFG) has been factoring in player feedback since the Super Smash Bros.-inspired fighter’s open beta ended last June.
First, the full version of MultiVersus will feature updated netcode for improved online functionality, which is one area in which Nintendo’s beloved Smash Bros. series has always faltered. Further, PFG is now using Unreal Engine 5, the latest version of Epic Games’ ubiquitous game engine, to offer enhanced visuals this time around.
Huynh also teased new characters and stages, although only concept art for some of the latter was shown, like Townsville from The Powerpuff Girls. Rumours previously indicated that additional new fighters could include the Joker and Raven from DC, Eleven from Stranger Things and even Ted Lasso from the eponymous Apple TV+ series.
Additionally, Huynh confirmed that there will be “new attacks and combat mechanics” for existing fighters. It’s unclear how extensively PFG will be reworking these characters.
Finally, Huynh says a new player vs. environment (PvE) mode will be added that offers “unique rewards,” although more details weren’t provided.
While this all sounds like a strong relaunch for the game, it remains to be seen how well PFG supports MultiVersus in the long-term. When the game first launched in early access in July 2022, it garnered significant attention and player bases across all platforms. However, player counts dwindled over the following several months, which many attributed to a lack of consistent content updates.
What’s more, Warner Bros.’ eventual shutdown of MultiVersus‘ servers led to confusion, with many players not even realizing that this wasn’t the final version of the game. Compounding this mix-up was the fact that Warner Bros. had been offering in-app purchases for cosmetics and playable characters, which players generally wouldn’t associate with a beta, and it confirmed it wouldn’t offer refunds for these. (These will, however, carry over to the final game.)
In the lead-up to launch, PFG promises to share more details on the game, so hopefully, we’ll have a better idea of a content roadmap soon.
Image credit: Warner Bros.
Source: Warner Bros.
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
