Live Service Games Are Exhausting

ign.com:

MultiVersus is closing its doors – well, early access doors – on June 25, and there’s been a lot of discourse about this move by Warner Bros. Games and Player First Games. I think the general consensus is that everyone sort of forgot MultiVersus was an Early Access game as it’s had not one but two seasons since it launched.

A lot of games recently have been coming out as Open Beta, Beta, or Early Access, and they just kind of stay that way. DayZ is the biggest example I can think of; the game had been in alpha for five years but just came out as a beta in 2018. Now, this isn’t a great example since you can’t buy a battlepass or cosmetics for DayZ, and MultiVersus has a battlepass and cosmetics system in place, but you can still purchase DayZ to play this beta.

Generally, if an early access game does close down for a bit, it’s not a big deal. But MultiVersus’ early access really appeared to be a fully released game. There were more than a handful of tournaments for MultiVersus at big competitions like EVO, and it even won a Game Award for Best Fighting Game 2022.

When MultiVersus launched in early access, it appeared to continue with that early access title until it was ready with its full release – sort of like how Fortnite went from open beta to a fully released game. But it turns out that’s not the case, and it’s frustrating to see players lose a game they’ve been playing openly without worry, and also been putting money into.

During the time that MultiVersus is going to be completely offline, players will not be able to get a refund for anything they’ve purchased in the game. Their progress and cosmetics will transfer over when the game is fully released in 2024, but for now, these things are just left up in the air. You