MultiVersus, the ill-fated crossover fighter, is shutting down after its fifth major update. It is, of course, sad news for fans, especially those who invested a significant amount of time and money on unlocking its relatively large roster of characters. It is also a further sign that one of gaming’s worst trends is reaching boiling point, putting a grievance that players have had with the online gaming scene in the forefront once again.
MultiVersus’controversial shutdownmarks a continued effort to simultaneously move games into a more shared online space while also removing ownership of said games from players.It has, perhaps more than the doomedConcord, struck a nerve with players thanks to its freemium model and seemingly huge backing from Warner Bros., thus highlighting this ever-growing and increasingly relevant problem once more.
It Continues A Growing And Unfortunate Trend
Online gaming has always been in an unpredictable and rocky place, with monolithic titles likeFortniteandGTA Onlinedominating the space, while dozens, if not hundreds of others flounder beneath them, struggling to muster a big enough audience to offset their server and development costs. Online games can be extremely lucrative, but only if they find the right audience, and the string offailed live service gamesis a testament to just how challenging that can be, even with a popular IP behind it, including DC Comics.
MultiVersushaving failed is a sure sign that online gaming is in its most volatile state, especially as it is a game with both the backing of Warner Bros. and its catalog of legacy franchises as well as the gameplay mechanics of Nintendo’s incredibly popular and rarely well-replicatedSuper Smash Bros.series. It should have been a surefire hit for Warner Bros., and yet it managed to, alongside the company’s other maligned live service,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, fail completely.
This is alongside several other recent failed live service games likeConcord,XDefiant, andFoamstars, as well as Sony canceling more online titles, including alive serviceGod of Wargame. However,MultiVersusisn’t just a small fish in a big pond, but rather the game at the precipice of what is surely a crumbling industry.Fans of live service games can no longer rely on them to succeed and stick aroundand when games with such huge odds for success fail, it brings into question the plethora of others that are prepared to launch in the coming years.
It Removes Progression And Makes It Hard To Keep Them
Of course, many will point to the fact thatMultiVersushas an offline mode that will stick around long after the servers shut down, something that is becoming increasingly prevalent. It ensures that people who invested money inMultiVersusand arenot being given refundsat least still have a way of accessing their content. However, this comes with a lot of compromises that fans won’t love.Players will only keep the content they’ve unlocked in the offline mode, and won’t be given access to everything, like in previous canceled live service titles such asMarvel’s Avengers.
Additionally, to access the offline mode, players need to install the latest update before June 06, 2025, and then log in to create local save data on that platform. Then, they can’t even uninstall the game as they won’t be able to reinstall it, nor can they play it on another platform as the offline mode is tethered to their local save.MultiVersus’approach to its offline mode post the shutdown is certainly an exception and not the rule.
Ubisoft’s Live Service Focus Is Making Its Games Worse
Ubisoft seems more focused on creating live service games instead of traditional AAA releases, but this change is ruining what makes its games fun.
However, once servers shut down for any online game, it is entirely up to the developers' discretion whether to include an offline mode in the first place.The Crewis completely unplayable as it never received a dedicated offline mode.Even if live service games include an offline mode to sustain them once they’re shut down, the developers may not give players access to everything, and, more often than not, there’s nothing to progress towards, as progression is completely removed due to the absence of the online component.
Gaming Shutdowns Don’t Bode Well For People Who Want To Own Their Games
It Is Evidence That People Don’t Own Digital Products
Naturally, this all brings into question whether players even own the games that they pay hard-earned money for. Previously, live service games with some form of offline component were still accessible thanks to physical copies, such asEvolveand the aforementionedMarvel’s Avengers. However, that isn’t even the case, asowning a physical copy of a game no longer grants players guaranteed access to it, as seen whenConcordwas shut down.
Infamously, as reported bygamingindustry.biz, back in early 2024, Ubisoft’s director of subscriptions, Philippe Tremblay, said that “it’s about feeling comfortable with not owning your game,” when discussing how a shift needs to happen that sees players treat video games like they do CDs and DVDs. While some may have brushed those comments off, it is a problem that’s becoming increasingly prevalent.Players really do not own their own games, which is what is leading, rather unfortunately, to manythreatening the MultiVersus developersin anger and retaliation.
In an increasingly digital age, it isn’t surprising that physical media is quickly becoming archaic. However, while its absence certainly gives players more room in their homes, and reduces the amount of plastic in the world, it also means that people have less and less tangible media that they can confidently state they own. Online games likeMultiVersusare evidence of the start of this decline in ownership of the media people consume and a foreboding omen that no media, regardless of whether it is dependent on servers or not, is safe.
