“Underperforming” MultiVersus Blamed for WB Games Struggles

MultiVersus returned to consoles and PC in 2024, after nearly a year off the market. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that absence helped the game. In a Warner Bros. earnings call (via Video Games Chronicle), the company reported a third quarter “impairment” of $100+ million. Company CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels made it clear that WB is pointing the finger largely at MultiVersus. Given the game’s free to play nature, we can’t look at MultiVersus sales to judge just how well it’s actually performing. Regardless, the comment from Wiedenfels suggests that the game simply hasn’t made the kind of profit that WB needs right now.

“Results were impacted by games, for which we took another $100+ million impairment due to the underperforming releases – primarily MultiVersus – this quarter, bringing total writedown year-to-date to over $300 million in our games business, the key factor in this year’s Studios profit decline,” said Wiedenfels.

There are a lot of factors that can play into a game’s failures; it certainly didn’t help that MultiVersus went offline for 11 months, leaving fans to wonder if it would actually return. However, over the last year, Warner Bros. has made an earnest effort to build public awareness around the game. MultiVersus got a huge push from the company in 2024, from Happy Meal toys, to an NHL tie-in, and even a crossover comic. That’s a heck of a lot more promotion than most games get, and MultiVersus players have also been treated to a steady stream of content, with high-profile character additions like Beetlejuice, who was timed to coincide with the new movie. Steam concurrent numbers were strong after the game’s return, but things have tapered off a lot since then. Unfortunately, we have no way of gauging how much interest there has been on PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

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It’s hard to say what this might mean for the future of MultiVersus, but it’s definitely not a good sign. Warner Bros. clearly believes in the game. On top of all the promotion MultiVersus has gotten this year, Warner Bros. acquired developer Player First Games back in July. However, it seems that every game that has tried to mimic the success of the Super Smash Bros. series has fallen short. From MultiVersus, to Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, to PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, it seems no company has been able to replicate Nintendo’s formula.

Hopefully Warner Bros. will continue supporting MultiVersus for the foreseeable future. It’s possible that a lot of potential players are hesitant to embrace a game that already got delisted once. If Warner Bros. can continue adding new characters and elements from the company’s most popular franchises, it might be able to win over a hesitant public, and generate the kind of profit WB Games is looking for. Between MultiVersus and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, it’s been a rough year for the company. We’ll have to wait and see if things can start to turn around in 2025.

Have you played MultiVersus since it came back earlier this year? Do you think the game can find an audience? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!