MultiVersus Return Date Announced

After months of speculation, WB Games has officially announced a return date for its fighting game franchise MultiVersus. The game is officially coming back to all platforms on May 28th. It will once again be a free-to-play title, but there are a lot of changes that have taken place since the version fans tried last year. Notably, the game has been moved to the Unreal Engine 5, and will offer significantly improved visuals as a result. The game has apparently been rebuilt from the ground up, in order to support new netcode, with the goal being to provide "consistent, world-class online play." Characters will also have new moves and attacks compared to the beta version.

Developer Player First Games offered details about the resurrection in a new video released this morning. In the video, game director Tony Huynh talked about the extended downtime for MultiVersus since the open beta's conclusion, and what the team has learned as a result. Readers can check it out in the Tweet below. 

Mics? Checked. MVPs? Rabid. Netcode? Updated. Game engine? Unreal 5’d. Tony? Ready. #MultiVersus launch date? May 28th. pic.twitter.com/CWnXDL1Mr4

— MultiVersus (@multiversus) March 11, 2024

MultiVersus: 11 Months Later

The open beta for MultiVersus shut down on June 25th, 2023. The announcement was met with a lot of frustration from fans, as it went against things WB Games had said in the past. It will be interesting to see how players react to the game's return, and whether it can win back players. 11 months is a very long time for a game to go offline, and the reality is that people tend to move on to the next big thing. However, it seems like there's been a lot of interest in the return of MultiVersus, and if Player First Games can convince fans that the downtime was worth it, it's possible the game could find an even bigger audience. 

The one big thing MultiVersus has going for it is the fact that there really isn't much competition in the platform fighter field. The Super Smash Bros. series is pretty much the gold standard in that regard, but since that's exclusive to Nintendo systems, fans on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC have been hoping for something that can fill the void. The Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl games have provided one option, but the free-to-play nature of MultiVersus could attract a bigger audience. 

MultiVersus Platforms

As with the open beta for MultiVersus, the full version of the game will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. The most notable exclusion from that list is Switch, but the previous version was not offered on Nintendo's system either. It's possible we could see the game on Nintendo Switch 2 when it launches, given the way that WB Games has supported the current Switch hardware. 

Are you excited for the return of MultiVersus in May? Do you think the game will be able to win back its audience? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!