Warner Bros. has acquired Player First Games, the developer behind the fighting game MultiVersus, as the company shifts to focus on the free-to-play space.
The deal comes as MultiVersus is heading towards its second season for the second time since it was first launched. Co-founders of Player First Games, Tony Huynh, and Chris White, will still retain leadership of the studio.
Warner Bros. Acquires Player First Games
Huynh also noted that becoming a part of the Warner Bros. umbrella will help the developer as well as its player base. Warner Bros. Games head David Haddad said that they have worked with Player First Games for several years to develop and release MultiVersus.
The latter also said that they are quite pleased to finally welcome the talented team from Player First Games to Warner Bros. Games.
The fighting game was first launched in open beta in 2022 and immediately gained popularity among players, according to GameDeveloper.
However, last year, the developer decided to shut down the game's beta and it later returned as a full, but still free-to-play, game.
MultiVersus is currently running on Unreal Engine 5 and seems to be popular enough for Warner Bros. to invest in both it and its studio.
Previously, the company said that it wanted the game to be one of its live-service champions and only time will tell if it will be able to live up to expectations. It is also currently a mystery exactly what Player First Games is capable of beyond its debut title.
The Future of MultiVersus
MultiVersus was primarily developed by Player First Games but Warner Bros. Games San Diego helped with production and live management.
The game features a continuously growing roster of popular characters based on Warner Bros. Discovery franchises, said Variety.
Warner Bros.' acquisition of the MultiVersus developer comes after months of layoffs and studio closures across the video games industry.
Several companies, even high-profile competitors such as Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation, Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Riot Games, and more were affected.
Since the game's release, the reviews that players have left have mostly been positive and it is considered a "raucous and fun competitive platform fighter that rewards players for learning the strengths and weaknesses of its electric cast of characters and working as part of a team."
Following the announcement of the acquisition, MultiVersus's Season 2 will go live soon and will add ranked mode as well as two new characters, Samurai Jack and Beetlejuice.
Other characters that are included are The Matrix's Agent Smith, DC's Joker, and many more, according to IGN.
