Multiversus Suffers 99% Drop in Player Count: What Lessons Does This Have for Free Games?

The release of Multiversus by Warner Bros in 2022 was a huge success, with mainly positive reviews and millions of players joining. The platform fighter reached a high of 20 million players and was sitting proudly at the top of the American video games sales charts for a period. However, the player count has suddenly plummeted and shows little sign of recovery. So what can we learn about free games from this recent drop in popularity?

What’s Happened Lately?

The figures from early in 2023 report a massive drop-off in the number of people playing Multiversus, with the latest numbers suggesting that it’s already lost 99% of its players. This comes as the player count dropped to fewer than 1,000 for the first time.

This was the most successful Warner Bros game to date and it also holds the title of being the most successful fighting game at launch on Steam. The early days following its release were marked by high levels of hype, as players were expecting big prize pools and a hugely competitive environment, but a few problems that were present from day one onwards have seemingly stalled its progress.

Players Still Expect a High-Quality Experience

One of the issues players have had with this game is the feeling that it’s unfinished, with some people claiming that it still has a beta feel to it. While developers typically release patches for their games after release, according to reports Multiversus simply doesn’t appear to be improving over time, meaning that it still feels rather bland and lacking in personality.  

Compare this to the highest quality free games listed here, like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Apex Legends, and League of Legends. A game being free to play shouldn’t mean a lack of quality but that is one of the issues that has plagued this game, making us feel that more time should have been spent on it.

We can see how this matters by looking at a company that offers guidance on playing casino slots for free. The new sites mentioned include BetMGM, PlayStar, and FanDuel casinos. All of these big brands offer no-deposit bonuses that let new members start to play for free, but they’re aware of the need to give players an excellent welcome experience. This is what encourages them to come back and play with real cash.

Problems with the Monetization Methods

While Multiversus is free to play, there are monetization methods included in the gameplay. This is a delicate balance that developers need to get right, as Rovio recently revealed that their launch of a paid version of Angry Birds negatively impacted the free-to-play titles that had previously brought them huge amounts of revenue.

One of the biggest complaints about Multiversus is that the task of earning experience points to level up characters and complete missions can become a grind. The Gold currency is earned through carrying out specific actions while the Gleamium tokens can be bought with real-world cash, but it looks right now as though the balance might be wrong.

There is still time for Multiversus’ problems to be fixed, and this certainly isn’t the first time that a fighting game has suffered a big drop once the initial excitement wears off. However, it seems most likely that the game has already peaked and that players have moved on elsewhere.