MultiVersus had a strong debut in the summer of 2022, quickly climbing up the most-played charts on Steam and consoles. However, with content drops and seasonal updates sporadic, it’s become apparent that interest in MultiVersus has subsided considerably.
Per a report from Video Games Chronicle, player activity in the PC release of MultiVersus has dropped close to 99% from its strong debut. This current activity is a far cry from the game’s impressive start in July 2022, which saw player activity peaking at 153,000 online users during its launch week. These numbers come from the SteamDB online database, which tracks Steam games’ activity and how many active users are engaged. Currently, MultiVersus on PC is charting at less than 1000 players as of this time, and there hasn’t been much news about the game since last early January.
At launch, MultiVersus quickly became a popular game due to its Smash Bros.-style take on various Warner Bros. and WB adjacent IPs — mainly focusing on DC superheroes and villains, Cartoon Network characters, the various Looney Toons, and even Aria Stark from Game of Thrones. The roster for MultiVersus is certainly eclectic, and therein lies its charm. Getting to see Batman and Steven Universe brawl will always be amusing, and MultiVersus backs that up with rock-solid fighting mechanics too.
However, what could be the cause for MultiVersus’ dip in players is its sporadic content drops, which is a common problem that many live-service games slip into – especially heavy hitters like Destiny 2 and Apex Legends.
As Travis Northup wrote in a recent IGN feature, it’s become harder and harder to stand out in the ever-expanding live-servce space.
“Nearly every developer out there wants to be the next Fortnite, and that has caused a tidal wave of GaaS games to flood the market,” he wrote. “…Even if you make a great game, you’re competing for the finite gaming hours of players who partake in live-service games, and that’s a zero-sum game.”
MultiVersus is still on track for more content updates as it continues into its second season, which added Marvin The Martian. The most recent content update came in January 2023, adding a special Lunar New Year Event, a Scooby’s Mansion stage, and general quality-of-life updates. Season 3 was previously set to roll out in February, however the new set of content was delayed till March 31. Though no official news has been said about what will be added in detail, we can expect to see new characters and stages added to the game.
In IGN’s review of MultiVersus, John Carson gave the game an 8/10, calling it “a raucous and fun competitive platform fighter that rewards players for learning the strengths and weaknesses of its eclectic cast of characters and working as part of a team.”
Alessandro Fillari is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @afillari.
