Killer Instinct For XB1 Is Free-To-Play... Kinda

Michael Dunaway
By Michael Dunaway, News Editor
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If you're a fan of the mid-'90s fighting game Killer Instinct, then you were probably jumping out of your seat when Microsoft, in conjunction with Double Helix Games, unveiled a new incarnation of the game for the Xbox One at its presser yesterday -- well, assuming you could overlook the obviously pre-determined match on stage.

A source at Destructoid got to try the game out in Microsoft's press room, and he gushes about the gameplay, which is just as familiar and savage as he remembers: combos, combo breakers, two life bars, and a new graphics polish that puts it in line with today's generation of fighting games.

But then he drops the bombshell: Only one character, Jago, is free.

What? Yes, that's right.

Now, we don't yet know how much other characters will cost, but if they're any more than, say 99 cents, this game will probably go over about as well as Allods Online. And even if the cost is minimal, it's going to be a tough sell. I can see it now, scores upon scores of Jago vs. Jago matches, as far as the eye can see...

Even just a minimal free roster of, say, four characters, each with a different fighting style -- maybe a "quick" character, a "strong" character, a "ranged" character, and some kind of hybrid/advanced character -- would go a long way toward making Killer Instinct more accessible and seem far, far less exploitative. And it's not like they wouldn't sell different outfits for those characters anyway.

It's just a mind-boggling choice to restrict opening character choice so heavily and it seems that the company behind it has little to no idea what people are looking for in the free-to-play market these days. Do you think you'll be giving Killer Instinct a try when it launches in November? Or does this news sour you on the game as a whole?

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About the Author

Michael Dunaway
Michael Dunaway, News Editor
Michael Dunaway has been part of the MMOBomb team for years and has covered practically every major Free-to-Play title since 2009.

Discussion (31)

HurDerp 9 years ago
We at microsoft don't give a f--k about what you want and think, we want your money, thank you

Mgamer 9 years ago
why does Jago look like a outlaw? O.O

PS4 9 years ago
PS4 FTW!!!!!!!! SONY WON E3 ALREADY

LordHikaru 9 years ago
Goddamn it. lol. Don't give me a reason to buy an Xbox One. I'll fork out the money to relive the blisters I got while playing the original KI lol.

Adrian Firth 9 years ago
Wow i love the look of this game, its about time they brought this back.....only its nothing new anymore but fans of the franchise will love it. I think paying for characters is shocking. What a fail!

AAA 9 years ago
Why does everything with Xbox 1 has to be expensive and $ heavily influenced :/

View 2 replies
Tymme 9 years ago
Actually, it's a single-character demo that can be played online/etc, not F2P.

matt 9 years ago
While Kinda off. I like how xbox and ps4 are getting free titles PS2 warframe and WOT while im not about consoles I do think its cool.

View 1 reply
zz 9 years ago
WHY ONLY XBOX 1, PC NAOW

Zariarn 9 years ago
Cooo cooo cooommbooo Breaker!!!!

chefmadness 9 years ago
This site has no idea what the hell they are talking about. Plus the news is all stale & moldy kinda like old ass bread. World of tanks on xbox1 I knew that way back in Feb. Mmobomb is going to fail epically if they do not get there shit together soon. & I still say it is spunks fault!

View 1 reply
Sakee 9 years ago
Count the Xbox One Mandatory Subscription to this as well and what you got is essentially a trial which you can pay for.

Genius level of business design but far from being userfriendly.

some guy 9 years ago
Holy hell, are they really charging on a per-character basis while only allowing one guy for people that don't dish out cash? There is absolutely no way this is going to work on a long-term scale. Makes me wonder just what they were thinking, when they set this model up. Oh, wait. I know. Bleeding as much money as possible out of a classic title.

Can't say I blame them for it, though. After all, they are a business. I just wish they'd have a bit more respect for their customers in regard to this sort of thing. I mean, yeah, it worked for EA and Zynga, but they're not exactly the most well liked companies out there.

LMAO 9 years ago
Haha, we're at E3 covering it by writing about news stories from other sites instead.

View 2 replies

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