I’ll admit it: I love MultiVersus. Did I have delusions it would be able to eventually trade blows with Smash? Yes. But it’s the only other platform fighter with deep pockets and an iconic IP vault to utilize! Warner Bros. recently admitted to some distressing news about MultiVersus and its potential future.
Per IGN, David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO, said in a financial call that MultiVersus has “significantly underperformed.” “MultiVersus‘ failure had added another $100 million to the $200 million writedown the company’s games business had already suffered earlier this year,” IGN reports.
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Chief Financial Officer, Gunnar Wiedenfels, further clarified the issue. “We took another $100 million plus impairment due to the underperforming releases, primarily MultiVersus this quarter, bringing total writedown year-to-date to over $300 million in our games business, a key factor in this year’s studio profit decline.”
‘multiversus’ in the multiverse of madness
For those of you keeping score? That spells disaster for MultiVersus‘ future. Warner Bros. already suffered mightily due to a certain Justice League game I refuse to name. Now, with MultiVersus on the ropes, it’s hard to imagine a world where the game and its dev team, Player First Games, don’t suffer the consequences. After all, the game already had a prolonged “break” after leaving the Beta stage in 2023.
I don’t want MultiVersus to go out like that. Yes, people have valid concerns about the game’s monetization structure, which is… unfortunately implemented. But, the bones of the experience are so solid — and always have been! I have so many fond memories from the Beta of smacking people with Finn’s backpack and making them angry. It feels different enough from Smash to be its own beast — and it has so many cool roster additions left to play with!
I hate to make this sound like a post-mortem. But, come on. We know how these stories tend to go in gaming. However, I wish you nothing but the best, MultiVersus. Somehow, I hope you can mount the comeback of the year (again)! It would be a shame to lose you, my precious, underrated platform fighter.