The game director of MultiVersus, Tony Huynh, has publicly addressed the troubling issue of "threats to harm" developers following the announcement of the game's impending shutdown. Last week, Player First Games revealed that Season 5 of the Warner Bros. brawler would mark its final chapter, with the MultiVersus servers set to go offline in May, merely a year after its relaunch. Players can still enjoy all earned and purchased content offline through local and training modes.
With real-money transactions for MultiVersus now discontinued, fans can continue to utilize Gleamium and character tokens to access in-game content until support ends on May 30. At that time, MultiVersus will be removed from digital storefronts including the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store.
The announcement, coupled with the absence of a refund policy, has led to significant backlash from players, particularly those who purchased the $100 premium Founder's Pack. Many feel "scammed," and there are reports of players with unused character tokens, now rendered useless as they had already unlocked all available characters. As a result, MultiVersus is facing a wave of negative reviews on Steam.
In response, Tony Huynh, co-founder of Player First Games and game director of MultiVersus, took to Twitter to address player concerns and condemn the threats of violence directed at the development team. In his statement, Huynh expressed gratitude towards Warner Bros. Games, the developers at Player First Games and WB Games, and the IP holders for their trust and collaboration. He also acknowledged the hard work and passion of the PFG team and thanked the players for their support and engagement.
Huynh apologized for the delay in addressing the situation, explaining his focus had been on the game and the team. He highlighted the joy brought by fan art, character ideas, and personal stories, and expressed regret for not being able to include every fan-favorite character, citing the complexities involved in character selection. He also clarified his role within the highly collaborative environment at PFG, emphasizing the team's efforts to listen and act on community feedback despite limitations in time and resources.
Addressing the threats, Huynh stressed that while players are entitled to their opinions, threats of harm cross a serious line. He shared his deep mourning for the game and hoped that players would enjoy Season 5 and continue supporting other platform fighter and fighting games. He concluded by thanking the community for allowing the dream of MultiVersus to become a reality, however brief.
Angelo Rodriguez Jr., a community manager and game developer at Player First Games, defended Huynh on X/Twitter, condemning the threats of physical harm against him. Rodriguez highlighted Huynh's dedication to the game and the community, emphasizing the team's continued efforts to improve the game even in its final season.
The shutdown of MultiVersus adds to a series of challenges for Warner Bros. Games, following the troubled launch of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League last year. The departure of Warner Bros. Games boss David Haddad was announced amid these difficulties. Warner Bros. Discovery reported significant financial losses from both Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and MultiVersus, totaling $300 million. The company's only new release in the third quarter of 2024, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, failed to make a significant impact.
In a financial call, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav acknowledged the underperformance of the games business and announced a focus on four key franchises: Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC, particularly Batman. Despite the challenges, Mortal Kombat 1 has achieved over five million sales, with future DLC planned. Warner Bros. is also working on a sequel to Hogwarts Legacy and has released Batman: Arkham Shadow exclusively for the Meta Quest 3, with a Wonder Woman game in development at Monolith Productions.
