Last week it was announced that the upcoming fifth season of MultiVersus will be its last. The game will be delisted by the end of May but will still be playable offline. Angry fans said words that Player First Games co-founder Tony Huynh considered “crossing the line”.
In a lengthy post published on X on February 2, 2025, Huynh addressed some of the things that went wrong with the game. He also apologized to fans for things not turning out the way everyone had anticipated.
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“Hey all, I wanted to say a few words as I reflect on the recently announced news about MultiVersus,” Huynh began in his public statement. “While I’m sad about the outcome, I will forever be grateful for the opportunity given to us by Warner Bros. Games and to each and every developer on the Player First Games and WB Games teams.”
“Also to every IP holder thank you for entrusting us with your babies, we hope we made the characters true to themselves and felt authentic to your fans. I couldn’t be prouder of the work the PFG team did. Their endless creativity and passion never ceased to inspire and amaze me. And of course I wanted to thank every player who has ever played or supported MultiVersus. Delighting and serving players is Player First Games objective.”
It's been an incredible ride, MVPs. Thank you for all the support. For more details, please visit our blog post https://t.co/tLVzpA9JaQ and FAQ https://t.co/XKuxAnd26j. pic.twitter.com/VLzBDbP0GQ
— MultiVersus (@multiversus) January 31, 2025
Huynh particularly apologized for not addressing the issue on time saying his attention has been divided between the team and the game. However, he said in recent times his focus has been more on the team. He thanked MultiVersus fans for the character ideas, fan arts, and personal stories.
Why Player First Games couldn’t bring some characters to MultiVersus
Some of the criticisms that MultiVersus has faced since its first launch is that they ignore requests to bring fan-favorite characters to the game in favor of bringing characters that players don’t care about.
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“I’m sorry if we couldn’t get to your favorite character. I do think Aquaman and Lola are really cool and I hope you all check them out,” Huynh said in defense.
“Character selection comes down to bunch of things including development time, listening to what the community wants, working with IP holders and approvals, if there is a cross-marketing opportunity available to support, and of course if the team is inspired to make the character. So a lot goes into to it.
“For instance BananaGuard came about because the team was enthusiastic about making it and on their own produced it over the weekend as a fun, quick-to-make character. When inspiration and enthusiasm spark we want to reward that and we got BananaGuard because of that. It wasn’t at the expense of another character. It was because the team was excited about making the character.”
That is the problem people were talking about, you don't take any advices, just makes the team work on what YOU want. You shouldn't add characters because YOU think they're "cool". Like, how do you say that and then use the community requests as a base?? Nobody asked for them+ pic.twitter.com/yjq5FJCV5g
— Scorpion for Smash 6 (@NotGettingOver) February 2, 2025
Huynh added that he doesn’t have the power that many people think he does because Player First Games is a highly collaborative studio where ideas could come from anyone. He stressed that they do listen to feedback and hope the community has noticed how they “try to listen and act” even when constrained by numbers and time.
Making threats to developers is crossing the line
In the midst of the sadness, Huynh called out fans who ditched their moral compass to make threats at Player First Games developer. The co-founder said such fans are crossing the line, reminding them it was also a sad time for everyone in the studio.
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“I know that this is painful for everyone, and I know every member of PFG feels it too, but I have to call this out, you’re entitled to what you say and think, but when there are threats to harm it’s crossing the line,” Huynh said.
“I hope that you can take a step back and realize that this is an extremely sad time for the team. I am in deep mourning for the game. Nobody wanted this outcome and it wasn’t from lack of caring or effort.
“I sincerely hope that Season 5 is enjoyed with the time we have left and that you will all continue supporting other platform fighter and fighting games as these games have impacted me in many positive ways. I’ve made so many friends and created so many great memories because of these games, and a big reason why we worked so hard at PFG was to share that with you. I hope that we played a small part and that you can look back on MVS and find some joy in the friends you made and the memories you shared.”
As of last week, real money purchases are no longer possible in the game. However, players with character tokens and Gleamium currency balance can continue to spend them on in-game content until the game goes offline on May 30. There will be no refund for any Gleamium or other content purchased with real money.
Another prominent concern from players who paid $99.99 for the Premium Founder’s Pack is that the game will now end without them enjoying the benefit of their huge investment. Players who purchased the Founder’s Pack back in 2022 when the game first launched were promised character unlock tokens.
Did the shuttering of MultiVersus hit you as a surprise? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
