It's been announced today that the free-to-play Xbox game MultiVersus is being shut down and delisted until it reappears for its full launch in 2024. The closing date for the MultiVersus open beta is June 25th, 2023.
The news was revealed on the official MultiVersus website, where it was explained that the team has a "clearer view of what we need to focus on", and will therefore be taking the game offline for the time being.
"We know there’s still a lot of work to do. As a result, we have a clearer view of what we need to focus on, specifically the content cadence of new characters, maps and modes to give you more ways to enjoy the game, along with updated netcode and more matchmaking improvements. We’ll also be reworking the progression system based on your feedback and looking at new ways for you to connect with your friends in the game.
To do this the right way, we will be closing the MultiVersus Open Beta on June 25, 2023. As part of this process, we’ll be pausing updates and taking the game offline as we prepare for the launch of MultiVersus, which we are targeting for early 2024."
The game will be temporarily delisted on Xbox starting April 4th, although if you've already downloaded it before then, you'll still be able to download it after that date as well. All online features will be disabled following the June 25th server closure, but local matches and the training features will remain playable.
It's fair to say MultiVersus hasn't proved as popular lately as it did back at launch, so hopefully this extra development time will mean the team can regroup and figure out how to come back with a bang in 2024.
Disappointed about this? What do you think of MultiVersus? Tell us in the comments below.
[source multiversus.com]
Comments 14
Damn. That’s a shame. It really had potential. Another one bites the dust…for now at least.
Was it just me that thought the game was fully released lol?
Might as well stick a fork in this game
@awp69
I don't see that as bad. The developers know that it needs a lot of work but rather than going from beta to a released game that doesn't do as good as it should and is hard to change after gamers are playing, they are taking a step back and fixing some fundamental issues first and then coming back.
I actually would encourage more devts to do this. Certainly Halo Infinite could've benefited from another year of development.
How many live service games have been released now? How many times must devs make the same mistakes over and over? If you're going to do one of these games, regardless of the genre, you have to have the content stream ready to go.
@NeoRatt Agreed. Having the game up whilst they deal with all this would just have this constant cloud around the game. Disappearing until it's ready at least lets them control that. Obviously, time will tell if it returns triumphantly or quick dies.
There's a good chance this may never come back I'd imagine!
Glad I never spent a dime on this game. I played it just to check it out, and I wasn't impressed. Felt like your average smash-bros knockoff.
@Balta666 Yeah I figured the game was a full release as they were charging for all the characters besides one. Betas usually let you check out all the content or they don't try to charge you for anything. I figured this was just your typical free2play game.
Having bought all 3 Battle Passes, unlocked all characters, and unlock many optional perks and limited time Event Items, I'd hope all that carries over. It really is a fun game and I wanna see it do well. But it needs more time to bake. Nothing will be able to dethrone Smash, but we need alternatives like this.
This game had a few issues. The massive content drought was probably the final nail in the coffin for this game. RIP the ‘smash bros killer’. Ironic isn’t it? I mean, this game returns next year but I don’t think interest will soar the way it was during launch season. For a live service game with battle passes and cosmetics, you’d think the updates would have stayed consistent. Smash Ultimate wasn’t even live service, yet it had supported dlc waves and spirit board updates up until 3 years after its release date! Multiversus had quite a bit of potential too.
@Balta666 You are not alone, I also thought this game was officially out. I mean, have they not been taking people money in their cash shop, selling seasons and what not?
Definitely understandable. The Alpha was much more enjoyable than the beta. They changed too much and on top of that, made unlocking any character, without MTX, a PITA.
Didn’t they already start taking real money transactions to unlock characters? This feels like a serious ripoff. Just keep the beta as is and announce a major reboot coming early next year with a roadmap… like FFXIV.
Interesting. These days "Early Access" to full launch is pretty much seamless. I can see the advantage of having the developers being able to focus on working on it rather than having to build the aeroplane as you're flying it.
Still what about all the people who spent money on this game? While legally there's no obligation it's not a good look.
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