MultiVersus fans aren’t buying ‘extra life’ excuse
The industry didn't quite 'finish him,' and after some time away to collect its thoughts, Player First Games' MultiVersus is back and more brutal than ever. This Smash-alike closed its open beta in June 2023, but now, MultiVersus is lacing up its boxing gloves for a whole new era.
Alongside the return of firm favourites like Rick Sanchez and Superman, MultiVersus has since added the Joker, Jason Voorhees, and Banana Guard. The brawler is definitely back in a better state, but with it being free-to-play, Player First Games has to make money somewhere.
Player First Games apologises for extra life 'bug'
Posting on X (formerly Twitter), the MultiVersus account outlined its new updates, which include end-of-game stats, the ability to change team colours, and general performance fixes. The big takeaway is a mention that the recent ability to buy extra lives was a "bug" that was (apparently) never meant to be in-game.
The account writes, "We'd also like to let you know that the option to purchase extra lives is a bug that has been addressed and is not an intended feature in the game," which has left players confused and sceptical. On the PvE Rifts mode, you're limited to a certain number of lives per day, although it looked like there was an option to purchase more.
There are five difficult levels on Rifts, and while the ability to buy more lives was supposed to be paywalled behind the upcoming 'Looney' difficulty that doesn't release until July 10, it looks like it was briefly applied to all difficulties. The team is yet to confirm whether the extra life ability will ever be added to the game.
Fans aren't happy with MultiVersus
Click to enlargeAside from the ability to buy extra lives, there are grumbles that it simply takes too long to unlock new characters. Even though it's unclear whether the devs intend to address this grind, it screams of microtransactions to us. When up, a single extra life supposedly costs 49 Gleamium, which works out at approximately $0.50.
Players were unconvinced by Player First Games' response and have quickly taken the dev to task. One grumbled, "How do you accidentally write code for a button that asks you to buy lives," while another added, "Less than 2 weeks in and we are already lying to the community?"
A third concluded, "I know you're just a PR guy and are saying what you're told to say in this situation, but could you tell your superiors that making up a very obvious lie is not the way to go about it? People can read lmao."
While MultiVersus is sticking to its story, we find it interesting that you'd write code for a feature that's supposedly never going to be part of the game. Is this a case of luring us back, only to hit us with aggressive microtransactions further down the line? Let's hope not because you don't want to endure the wrath of angry gamers.
