Rick and Morty, LeBron James join MultiVersus next week

One week into its existence, MultiVersus is already getting head-spinningly meta.

LeBron James, the basketball star who starred in a movie last year about being put inside a videogame, is being put inside a videogame. He'll join MultiVersus on July 26 as a new bruiser category character, clad in his Tune Squad jersey from Space Jam 2 (with an alternate, unlockable cowboy outfit). LeBron's moveset seems to revolve around a basketball projectile that gives him some range. We also see him literally dunking on opponents in a promotional video released by the developer today as part of San Diego Comic-Con.

LeBron will be joined shortly after by Rick and Morty. We haven't seen footage of Rick or Morty yet, but certainly they're as at-home in MultiVersus as any characters, given their escapades across different dimensions in the show. I'd expect various sci-fi gadgetry, like Rick's Portal Gun, to be part of the moveset. Mr. Meeseeks is already a throwable item in the game. "Morty will be available when MultiVersus Season 1 begins on Aug. 9," says MultiVersus PR. "Rick will also be part of Season 1; his release timing will be confirmed at a later date."

Rick and Morty's inclusion was expected following extensive MultiVersus leaks last year that have proven accurate so far. The leaks even noted at the time that LeBron James could be one of the first characters added to the game. Among that list of expected roster additions is Mad Max, Gandalf, Johnny Bravo, Daenerys, The Hound (both from Game of Thrones), Godzilla, Fred Flintstone, Marvin the Martian, and more. Twitter and TikTok posts that showed some of this unreleased material have since been deleted, but one showed an expected Pickle Rick alternate skin.

It'll be interesting to see how these characters fit into the initial MultiVersus tier lists, most of which has bruisers like Taz, Batman, and Jake the Dog at the top.

MultiVersus is currently in a self-described "open beta" although it remains available for purchase on Steam at $40, $60, or $100 tiers. A free tier will be available on the 26th, coinciding with the release of LeBron.

Note: This article previously stated that Rick & Morty would be a combined, single playable character. That isn't the case—in a press release today, Player First Games confirmed that the pair would be released separately on different dates.