MultiVersus Dev Mourns Game, Condemns Threats After Shutdown

The game director of MultiVersus, Tony Huynh, has publicly addressed the severe backlash, including "threats to harm" developers, following the announcement of the game's impending shutdown. Player First Games, the studio behind the Warner Bros. brawler, revealed that Season 5, launching this May, would be the last, marking the end of the game's online presence just a year after its relaunch. Despite the servers going dark, players can still enjoy all their earned and purchased content offline through local and training modes.

With real-money transactions discontinued, players can continue to use Gleamium and character tokens to access in-game content until May 30, when support officially ends. At this time, MultiVersus will be removed from digital storefronts including the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store. The lack of a refund policy has led to significant discontent among players, particularly those who purchased the $100 premium Founder's Pack, feeling "scammed" as their character tokens have become obsolete after unlocking all available characters. This has resulted in review-bombing on Steam and widespread frustration.

In response, Tony Huynh, co-founder of Player First Games and game director of MultiVersus, took to social media to express his gratitude and regret, emphasizing the team's dedication and the emotional toll of the game's closure. He also firmly condemned the threats of violence directed at the development team, highlighting the inappropriateness of such actions during an already challenging time.

Huynh's full statement reflected on the collaborative spirit of Player First Games, the joy the community brought to the team, and the complexities involved in character selection and development. He acknowledged the community's disappointment and the team's efforts to listen and improve the game, despite the constraints of time and resources.

Community manager and game developer Angelo Rodriguez Jr. also defended Huynh, underscoring his dedication and the unfairness of the threats against him. Rodriguez Jr. highlighted Huynh's engagement with the community and his efforts to enhance the game, expressing hope that players would enjoy the final season and appreciate the team's hard work.

The closure of MultiVersus adds to Warner Bros. Games' recent string of challenges, following the poor reception of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and the departure of Warner Bros. Games boss David Haddad. Warner Bros. Discovery reported significant financial losses from these titles, with MultiVersus contributing to a $100 million hit to the company's business.

In the wake of these setbacks, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav announced a strategic focus on four key franchises: Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC, particularly Batman. Despite these efforts, the gaming division is seen as underperforming, prompting a renewed emphasis on proven studios and core franchises to improve future success.