MultiVersus, the free-to-play platform fighter where Bugs Bunny dukes it out with Batman, had a recent relaunch and the game totally smashed it with a surprise peak of over 114,000 concurrent players on Steam.
Sure, the number is lower than the all-time peak of over 153,000 Steam concurrent players, which MultiVersus hit in 2022 during its open beta, but it is still an impressive number considering the rocky history of the game.
For those who didn’t know, MultiVersus was in open beta in 2022 but faced backlash after it was unexpectedly shut down ahead of a relaunch.
While Warner Bros never hid the fact that the game was in open beta, in fact, they were really open about it – MultiVersus was still running like it was a full release, with in-game stores and microtransactions already online. Yes, it even has multiple seasons of battle passes.
It is not a surprise to see a free-to-play title with aggressive microtransactions, but MultiVersus was already facing scrutiny for its dwindling player count during the beta period.
So a surprise shutdown announcement adds fuel to the fire, especially regarding the question if purchase skins can still be kept.
What I am trying to say is that the game does not have the best optics going for it, considering the controversy.
That said, if the launch peak concurrent numbers are anything to go by, MultiVersus is looking to have another Renaissance with a bright future ahead.
Even so, the current Steam user review score is Mixed, with players’ sentiment towards the game being rather split, with some loving the new changes while others reminisce about the beta period.