MultiVersus developer Player First Games has outlined the game’s new launch plans, including the content of its premium battle pass, and revealed how monetization will work.
Warner Bros.' Smash Bros.-style brawler launches proper on May 28 after it was brought offline following what is now called the open beta period.
In a blog post, Player First Games said returning players who log in by June 11 get the Season 1 premium battle pass for free. This means they also get playable character Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th for free.
Player First Games revealed a first look at the battle pass interface, which gives off strong Fortnite vibes. “We’ve increased the number of high-value items in both the free and premium tiers by adding more ringouts, character variants, taunts, and currency,” Player First Games said.
You can now earn the premium currency (Gleamium) through both tiers, which can be used to buy various in-game items, whether it’s for new characters or saving to use towards the next season’s premium battle pass.
Jason Voorhees is part of the premium battle pass, as are more variants, ringouts, taunts, and currency. The premium battle pass also lets you earn enough Gleamium to get the next premium battle pass, Player First Games confirmed. Jason Voorhees will also be available via character tokens or in-game currency when the pass is over.
At launch, the Season 1 battle pass will last for eight weeks, and the final tier of the pass will be repeatable, so you can keep playing and earning rewards even if you reach the end of it early.
Returning players who already have existing character tokens in their inventory can still use them to unlock characters, but MultiVersus will not offer new character tokens from launch. Neither will it offer new battle pass tokens, but if you already have some you can still use them to unlock the premium battle pass tier.
Player First Games has introduced new replacement currencies “to focus more on specific reward types.” Fighter currency can be earned in-game and used to obtain fighters. “Keep in mind, Fighter currency is different from character tokens, and it cannot be exchanged for character tokens,” Player First Games warned. Players can also try out new characters through the weekly free character rotation, which will work the same way as it did during the open beta.
Meanwhile, there is a separate Perk currency you can use to get perks. And there’s a Prestige currency that “rewards players for all of the items and cosmetics they collect for their favorite fighters.” Each cosmetic item you get awards its own Prestige currency value based on type and rarity. Eventually, you’ll use your Prestige currency to unlock Prestige cosmetics, which represent the rarest cosmetics in the game, Player First Games explained. These items can only be unlocked using Prestige currency.
“When we launch, all returning players will receive an allotment of Prestige currency based on the number of cosmetics they acquired during the open beta as a reward for all previous purchases and unlocks,” the developer added.
That’s four separate virtual currencies for the free-to-play brawler. It’s all a bit confusing, so hopefully the below image adds some clarity:
The Gold currency previously available is no more. Player First Games said it will dish out commemorative cosmetics that correlate to a player’s Gold earned during the open beta. These are exclusive items that can’t be earned any other way.
And finally, Player First Games will reset all perks from the open beta. As mentioned, perks are now unlocked using the Perk currency, attainable through playing the game, and all players will receive an allotment that correlates to the number of perks unlocked from the open beta. Player and account mastery tracks will be set to level one at launch. “Mastery tracks are a great way to give you both short-term and long-term goals when starting out, and ultimately, we want to give all players the chance to earn lots of items,” Player First Games said.
Earlier this week, Warner Bros. revealed two new playable characters for MultiVersus: the aforementioned Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th and Agent Smith from The Matrix. Jason Voorhees and Agent Smith join the MultiVersus roster alongside DC Super-Villain The Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) as part of Season 1: Puns & Villainy. Jason Voorhees is available at launch, while Agent Smith will release later in the season.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
