Multiversus, the long-anticipated Warner Bros. fighting game that had an initial moment of popularity back in 2022, has now launched in full, and players are coming back in droves.
Last year, the Multiversus developers made a controversial move when they took the game out of Early Access and shut down its servers to the public, instead making a conscious effort to finalize the development process before its relaunch. Many members of the game’s early player base found this decision to be isolationist, especially in light of the game being a for-purchase product that effectively left players with a black hole in their Steam libraries.
Yesterday, on its official launch day, Multiversus garnered a peak of just over 114,000—slightly lower than its Early Access topout but still respectable for a game that slipped out of the public consciousness for nearly two years.
The initial peak of players for Multiversus came during its early-access period, when it eclipsed the 150,000 mark in July 2022, according to playerbase-tracking site Steamcharts.
What’s most impressive about Multiversus immediately jumping back to a point where it could rival its early-access numbers is the fact that the game has been struggling with server issues since its official relaunch. In a looping effect, the influx of returning players is causing problems, while said problems are likely preventing more players from jumping on board.
Much of the server status kerfuffle during yesterday’s official Multiversus launch came from players receiving a “We’re down for maintenance” message upon logging into the game. This status message simply implied that players were in a queue but confused many into believing there was actual maintenance going on.
We expect Multiversus to gain a more stable player base as the week goes on and more curious gamers either pick up the game for the first time or make a return after bowing out at some point during the Early Access period two years ago.
Published: May 29, 2024 11:30 am