WB to shut down brawler blunder Multiversus shortly after executive departure

Multiversus is shutting down on May 30, 2025, WB Games has confirmed.

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Season 5 will be the last big update for Multiversus, the failed online game that combined classic DC and Hanna-Barbera characters in a beat-em-up setting. WB had hoped to capitalize on Nintendo's popular Smash Bros. with their own free-to-play crossover game. Multiversus proved to be an expensive misfire for the games division.

With today's announcement, the studio has turned off all in-game purchases within Multiversus. That means no one can spend real money to buy in-game currency. Multiversus will still be playable offline, though, and you'll still have everything you've unlocked. Gamers also have until server shutdown on May 30 to spend any Gleamium they may have left.

Multiversus' shut down will happen just months after the departure of WB Games president David Haddad, who is leaving the company in March after 12 years leading the games segment.

• After careful consideration, our next Season will serve as the final seasonal content update for the game.
• MultiVersus Season 5 will begin on February 4, 2025, and run through May 30, 2025, adding two new playable characters to the roster - DC's Aquaman and Looney Tunes' Lola Bunny.
• All new Season 5 content, including Aquaman and Lola Bunny, will be earnable through gameplay.
• Both new characters will be accessible when Season 5 begins on February 4 at 9 a.m. PST - Aquaman via the Battle Pass as the first tier reward and Lola as the daily calendar login reward.​
• All online features will continue to be available until Season 5 concludes on May 30 at 9 a.m. PST.
• At that point, there will be an option to play MultiVersus offline via the local gameplay mode, either solo against A.I. opponents or with up to three friends. To do this, you'll need to install/download the latest version of the game and log in during Season 5, any time between February 4 at 9 a.m. PST and May 30 at 9 a.m. PST.
• After logging in, a local save file will be automatically created connected to your PlayStation Network, Microsoft Store, Steam, or Epic Games Store account, allowing you to enjoy the game offline with all earned and purchased content moving forward.​

WB Discovery management has repeatedly spoken about Multiversus' disappointing results.

Here's a quote from Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels discussing the games division as of Q3 2024:

"Performance in the quarter was subpar relative to our internal expectations, notwithstanding the difficult comparisons with Barbie last year. Results were impacted by games for which we took another $100 million plus impairment due to the underperforming releases, primarily MultiVersus this quarter, bringing total write-downs year-to-date to over $300 million in our games business, a key factor in this year's studio profit decline."

WB Discovery has set a $3 billion earnings target for its games division.