Highlights

  • MultiVersus is making a strong comeback with new visuals, mechanics, and roster additions on May 28.
  • MultiVersus is teaming up with the NHL in a unique crossover event using character models on the ice.
  • While the crossover is fun, MultiVersus should consider additional promotion strategies before its release.

After shutting down its servers all the way back in June 2023, MultiVersus took a rather lengthy hiatus, only rearing its head again last month. With a brand-new engine, some overhauled visuals, some refined fighting mechanics, and some new roster additions, MultiVersus has spent its time off wisely, and it looks set to make quite an impressive comeback on May 28.

But MultiVersus isn't going to just sit back and wait until its release date. After MultiVersus' return announcement was met with a wave of positivity and intrigue from both long-time fans and newcomers, MultiVersus has decided to seize its opportunity to stay in the limelight, but it's doing so in a rather odd way. On Sunday, April 14 at 3:30 pm ET, MultiVersus will be crossing over with the NHL, and it's all a little strange.

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MultiVersus' NHL Crossover Explained

On Sunday, April 14, the most recent Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche will be facing off against one another once again, but this time, they're going to be portrayed as various Warner Bros. Discovery characters. In a direct crossover with MultiVersus, this NHL match is going to use the organization's state-of-the-art NHL Edge tracking technology along with Hawk-Eye Innovations' optical tracking tech to impose MultiVersus character models over the top of real-world Avalanche and Golden Knights players, thus making it seem like iconic pop-culture characters are duking it out on the ice.

In a recent mock draft, the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights received their MultiVersus character line-up. While the Golden Knights get Batman, Shaggy, Bugs Bunny, and Wonder Woman, Avalanche get Superman, Velma, Finn the Human, and Steven Universe. On top of animated avatars, this alternate NHL cast will also see the players facing off in an evolving ice rink based on a few different MultiVersus stages, including the Space Jam basketball court and the Adventure Time treehouse. The Tasmanian Devil is also set to officiate game and kick things off by dropping the first puck.

This is far from the first time an animated sports match like this has happened, with one of the most well-known examples being ESPN's Toy Story "Funday Football" event in September 2023 that used similar technology to impose Toy Story characters and Toy Story-themed environments onto a real-world NFL match. But the sheer scale of this MultiVersus x NHL crossover is unlike anything fans have seen so far.

MultiVersus' Pre-Launch Promotion Could Be Better

While this MultiVersus x NHL crossover seems like a lot of fun, and the gimmick of imposing animated characters over the top of actual players hasn't worn too thin just yet, it's still a pretty strange way to promote MultiVersus' upcoming return. This comeback is a golden opportunity for MultiVersus, and it shouldn't squander it by not promoting the game as much as it can. Simply put, this NHL crossover can't be the only form of promotion that MultiVersus does before its release in May.

It's clear that MultiVersus wants to really lean into its crossover premise for its promotion, so it should be making the most of that before launch. MultiVersus should be releasing animated trailers that see iconic characters sharing fun and creative exchanges, or have some form of cross-promotion with Warner Bros. Discovery's many other properties. While it shouldn't go overboard with promotion before launch, the general public should be made aware that MultiVersus is coming back, and that it's bigger and better than ever.