The End of MultiVersus?

By Ruben Osterling MultiVersus, a platorming fighting game in the style of Super Smash Bros, launched as a hopeful story. During the July release it started out with positive reviews, tons of internet hype, and a player count of 153,044. Who didn’t want to use two percent of Ultra Shaggy’s power? It also offered a diverse cast of characters and easy controls for beginners. However, it didn’t last long.  In August, player count dropped to 139,095. The next month, 22,037. Then the next month, 16,867. And it looks like it’s going to keep dropping. Why? There are a couple of theories. The developer, Player First Games, designed MultiVersus with the Fortnite styled seasonal setup, with Season 1 ending November 15th. Perhaps gamers think that battle passes are getting old. Following the season format, they’ve been releasing characters regularly. First Stripe from Gremlins, then Black Adam for DC Comics, and most recently both Rick and Morty from the hit show, Rick and Morty. Almost as soon as the game came out, a leaked list of all upcoming characters ruined the surprise. Maybe people didn’t care for the upcoming roster and found no reason to keep playing. Furthermore, they changed the game’s XP (experience points) system. It was much harder for players to level as characters, making them lose interest to grind.  So, what’s the solution? It could be easing up on the XP system. Or adding more interesting characters. Maybe introducing new modes in season two. If MultiVersus doesn’t get a grip, this could be the beginning of the end.