Developer Mourns MultiVersus Shutdown Amid 'Harm Threats'

The game director of MultiVersus, Tony Huynh, has publicly addressed the concerning 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 servers set to go offline in May, just a year after the game's relaunch. Players can still enjoy all earned and purchased content through local gameplay and training modes offline.

Although real-money transactions for MultiVersus have ceased, fans can continue to use Gleamium and character tokens to access in-game content until support officially ends on May 30. Concurrently, 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, sparked backlash from players, particularly those who had purchased the $100 premium Founder's Pack. Many expressed feelings of being "scammed," with some pointing out that their character tokens are now redundant, as they had already unlocked all available characters. As a result, MultiVersus has faced review-bombing on Steam.

In response, Tony Huynh, co-founder of Player First Games and game director of MultiVersus, took to social media to address player concerns and condemn the threats of violence directed at his team. In his statement, Huynh expressed gratitude towards Warner Bros. Games, the developers at Player First Games and WB Games, IP holders, and the players for their support and contributions to the game. He highlighted the team's dedication and creativity, and apologized for not addressing the situation sooner due to his focus on the game and team.

Huynh acknowledged the community's input on character selections and the development process behind characters like BananaGuard, emphasizing the team's collaborative spirit and commitment to delivering value to players. He also urged the community to recognize the efforts made by the developers to listen and act, despite limitations in time and resources.

He condemned the threats of harm, noting that such actions cross a line during an already difficult time for the team. Huynh expressed his deep mourning for the game and encouraged players to enjoy Season 5 and support other platform fighter and fighting games. He hoped that players could find joy in the friendships and memories created through MultiVersus.

Player First Games community manager and game developer Angelo Rodriguez Jr. also defended Huynh on social media, emphasizing the inappropriateness of threats of physical harm. Rodriguez highlighted Huynh's dedication to the game and the community, and encouraged players to appreciate the efforts put into Season 5.

The shutdown of MultiVersus adds to the recent challenges faced by Warner Bros. Games, following the disappointing launch of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League last year. The departure of Warner Bros. Games boss David Haddad was announced amid these struggles. Warner Bros. Discovery reported that the failures of Suicide Squad and MultiVersus led to significant financial losses, with the latter contributing an additional $100 million.

In a financial call, Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav acknowledged the underperformance of their games business and announced a focus on four key franchises: Hogwarts Legacy, Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, and DC, particularly Batman. Warner Bros. has already released Batman: Arkham Shadow exclusively on the Meta Quest 3 and is working on a Wonder Woman game at Monolith Productions.