MultiVersus returns in May, running on Unreal Engine 5

MultiVersus will officially return on May 28.

In a new video revealing the game’s re-release date, game director Tony Huynh explained that previous criticisms had been taken on board.

“The team has heard your feedback and learned a lot from our open beta,” Huynh said.

“Here at Player First Games, it’s always been our aspiration to make a platform fighter that you’ll love as much as we do.

“We’ve been working hard on a variety of changes and updates to deliver an improved gameplay experience.”

According to Huynh, these changes include the addition of “some really exciting brand new personalities to the roster”, new stages, improved netcode and new moves for each character.

The game has also shifted to Unreal Engine 5, and a new PvE mode will be introduced “with unique rewards”.

MultiVersus, which launched as an open beta in July 2022, is a Smash Bros-style crossover fighting game featuring characters from a variety of Warner Bros. properties, including DC Comics, Looney Tunes, Cartoon Network, Game of Thrones, Tom & Jerry, Gremlins, Rick & Morty and The Iron Giant.

It was initially very popular, with a peak of more than 143,000 players on Steam on day one, rising to 153,433 the following day.

A month after its launch, Warner claimed that over 20 million players had already downloaded and played the game, suggesting it had a strong base on which to build.

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After this, however, the daily peak player count fell dramatically, and by February 2023 it had dipped below 1,000 for the first time, marking a drop in daily peak player count of 99.4% in less than seven months.

Part of the reason for the drop in players may have been a tepid response to the game’s second season, which was lengthy and relatively light in new content.