MultiVersus developer Player First Games is supporting competitive and professional play better than Nintendo does for Super Smash Bros.
Player First Games’ upcoming platform fighter, MultiVersus, features a mashup of Warner Bros. licensed characters, and will serve as direct competition for Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros., especially on the competitive scene. Given that Nintendo both created and dominated the market for this type of fighting game, MultiVersus will undoubtedly cross paths with Smash Bros. as it enters Open Beta in July. However, Player First Games has given MultiVersus an edge by craftily structuring its marketing and gameplay around competitive play.
Like Super Smash Bros., MultiVersus is a platform fighter presenting various stages for players to battle on. Controlling characters such as Harley Quinn, Shaggy, and Cartoon Network characters like Steven Universe, players attempt to knock each other off of these stages and into the screen’s blast zones to score KOs. MultiVersus does not shy away from its similarities to Smash Bros. through its nearly identical format. Thus, it encounters the same problem facing all up-and-coming platform fighters: the possibility of being dwarfed by the reach and success of Super Smash Bros. To prevent this, Player First Games has embraced an area overlooked by Nintendo – the competitive scene.
Player First Games has already leaned harder into the competitive fighting game scene than Nintendo ever has. Its first major move upon entering Closed Alpha was to accrue professional Super Smash Bros. players such as ESAM, Light, NAKAT, and VoiD, and top fighting game players like SonicFox and Lord Knight, to stream MultiVersus. This has proven to be a successful part of Player First Games’ advertising strategy, as MultiVersus has been in the spotlight of the Smash Bros. community since its release in Closed Alpha. The developers even worked directly with NAKAT and VoiD throughout the game’s testing phase, inviting them for a “Pros vs Devs Showcase” on the MultiVersus YouTube channel where they played and provided competitive insight on the game. This established the popular pair of Smash Bros. icons as an early competitive face of MultiVersus.
Player First Games’ biggest success for MultiVersus was securing the game a spot at EVO, the largest fighting game tournament event in the world. Despite its longstanding history with Super Smash Bros., EVO announced in February that Nintendo declined its yearly invitation for Smash Bros. after EVO was acquired by Sony. Not only did this devastate EVO, whose Smash Bros. broadcasts usually serve as the event’s headline every year, but it dismayed Smash Bros. players who hoped to attend or spectate the event. Player First Games capitalized on this opportunity and filled Smash Bros.‘ spot with its own platform fighter, MultiVersus. To show its commitment to the game’s future professional scene, Player First Games has offered a massive prize pool of $100,000 for the event in August, gaining major media attention for MultiVersus.
Lastly, the most noticeable difference MultiVersus brings to the competitive scene compared to Super Smash Bros. is its intended 2v2 format. Smash Bros. pioneered 2v2 gameplay for the genre, but it was never at the center of its game modes. While it is featured at most tournaments, 2v2 generally serves as a side event to 1v1. MultiVersus recognized the potential of 2v2 within the platform fighter structure and established it as its premier game mode. It structured its fighters into character classes such as Bruiser and Support, providing them with specific functions within the format. This changes the entire competitive experience of MultiVersus, compelling players to utilize the game’s characters to strategize and collaborate as a team.
MultiVersus has distinguished itself from both Super Smash Bros. and other competing platform fighters. It established an identity of its own and seems to have avoided the pitfalls games like Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl succumbed to while cultivating its own competitive scene. Fans will have to pay careful attention to the trajectory of MultiVersus as it launches and develops to see whether it will eventually be overshadowed by Super Smash Bros., or if there’s room for another platform fighter at the top.
Source: YouTube/MultiVersus
Nicholas Scotti is a Game Features Writer for Screen Rant. With a background as a professional Super Smash Bros. Brawl player and a partnered Twitch streamer, gaming has always been a large part of Nick’s life. His favorite types of games include platformers, action adventure narratives, indies, and all things Nintendo. Nick lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his girlfriend of ten years and their two cats. He is a mental health advocate, having overcome his own struggles with depression and panic disorder. He loves his new air fryer, board games, and vegan desserts.
