MultiVersus faces backlash after claiming in-game purchasable lives is a bug and not a feature

While MultiVersus has seen a huge wave of success since its recent 1.0 launch, it has been embroiled in controversy as of late. Posted on both the official Discord and X accounts of the popular free-to-play platform fighter, developer Player First Games is now under fire after claiming players discovering means to purchase lives in-game is a "bug" and is not supposed to be in the game.

To quote the full statement:

"We'd also like you to know that the option to purchase extra lives is a bug that has been addressed and it is not an intended feature in the game."

The player base has raised collective eyebrows at this statement as they have encountered fully functional transactional features replete with descriptive text and interactive UI. So what is happening?

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Fans accuse Player First Games of lying about purchasable lives in MultiVersus

"You can purchase more" (Image via Warner Bros Games)

The option to purchase lives appears as part of the Looney difficulty Rifts. Rifts in MultiVersus are challenges that players can complete by defeating AI-controlled foes. Players can view this by selecting any Rift and highlighting the last option in the category; that said, as mentioned on the difficulty page, the Looney difficulty does not open until July 10, 2024.

The description box on the right side of the screen mentions the following text of note:

"Complete matches with a limited number of lives each day. (You can purchase more)"

Some fans have argued that the "bug" in question may be that it was not supposed to go live at all. However, if this is the case, why does it have associated text in the Rifts section claiming the exact opposite of what the developers are saying? Lately, players have also grown increasingly frustrated by Player First Games' lack of clarity on many matters.

Now, this seems like the final piece of evidence that fans needed to confirm their suspicions that they essentially were never for "Player(s) First." This has earned them massive backlash online.

Thus far, we don't have an official response to this fan reaction. MultiVersus continues to see updates periodically, so perhaps we may hear something in the future following which we will update this article as needed. Here's hoping Player First Games delivers a crystal clear statement to alleviate fan fears before this hurts the game's player count in the long run.

As one of the most popular free-to-play games in 2024, MultiVersus is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.