A whisper of hope: a cryptic Belgian McDonald's promotion has spawned a flurry of desperate MultiVersus hype from abandoned players
Ah, MultiVersus. By all accounts, it was a genuinely solid platform fighter with an all-star cast, torn away from us too soon. It was only an "open beta!" What do you mean there were seasons with battle passes? That's normal for an open beta. To test battle passes you could buy with real money.
This sudden Wile E. Coyote bait-and-switch hit diehard fans like a painted cliff, especially since platform fighters on the PC have never really had their 'Smash Bros.' moment. There's plenty of decent ones, sure. Brawlhalla, Rivals of Aether, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2—but nothing ever quite captured a community in the same way as Nintendo's juggernaut.
But MulitVersus felt like a real contender. The Warner Bros. portfolio is massive, and for a beautiful second, it seemed like we'd live in a world where Saul Goodman could spike the Iron Giant. Well, there might be hope on the horizon—though there's a thin line between hope and cope. As spotted by The Gamer, a Belgian McDonald's promotional sticker made the rounds on Twitter last week.
Which isn't confirmation of anything, necessarily. Especially in the age of AI, it'd be pretty easy for your average leaker to fake something like this with techno-wizardry. Except this Deadpool fan went back, snapping a second pic and a recording. The McFlurry thickens.
Update on the #MVS McDonald’s leakAlright, Multiple people asked me about “the small text” at the bottom.After looking at it, i can confirm that it’s just Trademark/Copyright information. (I tried to zoom in with the camera, it’s not that clear but it’s readable if you pause) https://t.co/HtkEJFi0AS pic.twitter.com/ihH4aGI3lrDecember 8, 2023
Okay, so—maybe they actually printed out a photoshopped sticker with some old artwork, slapped it on a window, and bothered a few poor Belgian McDonalds employees by circling their entrance like a buzzard with their phone out. People have gone to further lengths to fake leaks before. Except these stickers have cropped up again:
These stickers read (courtesy of Google translate): "Soon in your Happy Meal," so it can be safely assumed that the promotion, if legitimate, includes some MultiVersus themed toys. It's a little blurry, but it also looks like the copyright text at the bottom says "2024", and last we heard the game was slated for a 2024 comeback.
Coincidentally, MultiVersus voice actors Daniel Ross (Uncle Shagworthy, Gizmo, Stripe) and Abby Trott (Wonder Woman) posted a video to Twitter. Just to say hi.
@AbbyTrott and I wanted to say HI to all our #MultiVersus fans out there, we love ya lots! ???????? #voiceactors #wonderwoman #gizmo #stripe #uncleshagworthy #wbgames @multiversus @wbgames #abbytrott #danielross pic.twitter.com/vEB9A95TG3December 8, 2023
"We see you, and we love you, and we love MultiVersus and stuff," says Ross, before both of them wave goodbye. Looking at the game's subreddit itself, this wholesome video seems almost cruel—seeing as the whole place has collectively lost its goddamn mind. Like a Tamagochi you forgot about, except the Tamagochi can't die.
As an example, here's a fake roadmap trailer post with over 500 upvotes that's just a Josh Hutcherson fancam set to "Blow My Whistle." Why? Those secrets are eldritch knowledge, known only to the faithful. Do not ask to stare into the void, it will stare back. And Josh Hutcherson will be there.
Multiversus - 2024 roadmap trailer from r/MultiVersusTheGame
This is all decidedly eldritch, and I fear if I dig any deeper I'll be dragged into the MultiVersus purgatory with the rest of these lost souls. Ultimately, I'm still a little baffled you can't play the game right now to begin with. Some of the live service elements were a touch obnoxious, but it was otherwise a good time—we even gave it a 78 in our MultiVersus review.