‘MultiVersus’ Shows the Limits of IP Crossover Bonanzas

This weekend marks the end of a short, but strange era: MultiVersus, a platform fighter featuring a bunch of Warner Bros. characters, has shut down. The game was intended as a hopeful rival to Super Smash Bros., and after a promising start, WB has cut bait about a year after its full relaunch. That MultiVersus died isn’t really a surprise these days; the mid-2020s have featured a wave of multiplayer games being shut down or losing support not long after they launch. Babylon’s Fall, Crossfire X, Gundam Evolution, and WB’s own Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are just a handful of examples. But depending on who you ask, Player First’s platform fighter had plenty of fingers to blame for its end. Some attribute it to the full game’s monetization, others the difference in how it played between its year-long open beta and its 1.0 release in 2024. Some think it all boiled down to the roster; WB owns a lot of IP, and clearly the aim was to get a selection of characters that would appea ... Read full article.