Officially announced in November 2021 following online rumors and leaks,[2] early access and open beta versions of the game ran from July 2022 to June 2023.

Season 3 added a "casual queue" mode, similar to the "Co-Op vs. AI" mode from the open beta, "Wacky Weekends", where the aforementioned Rift mutators are applied to PvP, and "Testing Grounds", where new gameplay mechanics, like shields, are trialed for addition in future updates.

MultiVersus features a perk system, which allows players to customize their characters with passive abilities that will also affect their partners in Teams.

[2][7][8] Dedicated servers, rollback netcode, and voice acting were promoted as prominent features, with new content and characters released via periodic updates.

[9] Initially, a user on the subreddit r/GamingLeaksandRumours claimed that the game was in development as early as 2019 following the release of Super Smash Bros.

On October 27, 2021, professional Super Smash Bros. player Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma shared an image on Twitter showing what he alleged was the character selection screen for MultiVersus.

[33] The image was deleted after Warner Bros. submitted a DMCA takedown request, which DeBiedma stated was a "hard confirm" of the photograph's veracity.

[34][35] The image included Gandalf and Rick Sanchez as playable characters in place of Arya Stark and Garnet, and Superman and Steven Universe's designs were updated to be shown in the trailer.

[40] On May 26, 2022, a subsequent leak revealed additional playable characters, including Daenerys Targaryen and Ted Lasso.

[41] An early access version was released on July 19 for participants of selected events, including the game's closed playtests and those competing in the game's first 2v2 tournament at the 2022 Evolution Championship Series, and via Twitch's Drops reward system and purchasable founder's packs.

[42] During the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con event, Rick Sanchez, Morty Smith and LeBron James were announced as playable characters.

[46] During the open beta, Bugs Bunny players held the number-one ranked slot in both 1-v-1 and 2-v-2 leaderboards.

[47] The character's prevalence among top-ranked 2-v-2 players was notable,[47] leading to changes to Bugs' abilities and those of Wonder Woman implemented after EVO 2022.

[54] On March 27, 2023, it was announced that the open beta would end on June 25, and the game would go offline in preparation for a full launch on May 28, 2024.

[55] This was despite PFG's prior statement, which read, "MultiVersus hits Open Beta on July 26 and then we're here to stay.

For the full launch, Player First Games rebuilt the game in Unreal Engine 5 to support better netcode and visuals,[58] however as a result of the switch many features that existed in the open beta went missing or weren't fully complete, with promises made for those to be re-implemented down the line.

[59] Such instances of missing features included ranked matchmaking, a free-for-all PvP mode, and post-match stats, all of which returned in post-launch updates.

IGN wrote "MultiVersus may not be a must-play at social gatherings, but its refreshing team-based battles make it a great platform fighter online."

[79] By February 2023, the game experienced a significant drop in daily players, which a Kotaku article attributed to a lack of updates and new characters.

[81] The announcement of the closure of the open beta surprised players who believed that the game was already fully released and had paid for premium content.

[80][82] Of the re-release, Kotaku said that the "joy is propped up by a dumpster fire full of free-to-play, service gaming tropes, some so poorly thought out or predatory that it’s shocking they made it out the gate at all".

"[83] The game was further criticized for how certain variants were released, as players were incentivized into purchasing them with real-world currencies and had limited options to obtain them in other ways.