It’s been 10 years since Killer Instinct (2013) was released, and after years of going dormant, developer Iron Galaxy has brought in a new update.
The Killer Instinct 10th Anniversary Update has streamlined the game editions available on Xbox and PC. The game launched 10 years ago as a free-to-play title, but when it was released on Steam for PC, that version was only available as a full purchase. The PC version on Microsoft Store includes the free-to-play version, where a the roster of fighters are mostly locked with a free weekly rotation of fighters available.
With the 10th Anniversary update, there is now a free-to-play version available now on Steam alongside the Xbox and Microsoft Store version.
Players who have purchased Killer Instinct on Steam previously are upgraded to Killer Instinct Anniversary Edition. This version includes all the 29 fighters and access to Premium Content like Shadow Lords (which the previous paid version already had). In a sense, if you already owned the game, nothing has changed. Though oddly, if you already own Killer Instinct, it won’t marked as Killer Instinct Anniversary Edition, and you can still purchase the Anniversary Edition (don’t- it’s the same game with the same content).
For Xbox consoles and the Microsoft Store version, the Killer Instinct Definitive Edition is replaced by Killer Instinct Anniversary Edition. Several content from Definitive Edition like Killer Instinct Classic 1 & 2 (the original two Killer Instinct games) are not available with Anniversary Edition, so there’s no other way to access such content anymore unless you already purchased the Definitive Edition.
The efforts in streamlining the different editions so that there’s the same version of the game on all platforms is nice, but it still a rather messy way of doing so. That’s just the effects of having a game launched free-to-play and not wanting to leave behind players that do not purchase the full game.
Killer Instinct (2013), alongside Quantum Break, were the first few Xbox Game Studios games that ventured onto Steam. These days Microsoft will launch games on Steam, on the same release day even, something unthinkable before 2017 when first-party publishers keep their games exclusive on their respective consoles.
Killer Instinct is a successful reboot of Rare’s fighting game series. Initially developed by Double Helix before Iron Galaxy took the reins, the 2D fighter brings back the glorious ultra combos and combo breakers alongside a very in-depth training mode, a free-to-play model and later a single-player campaign. All of that wrapped with a quality soundtrack that interacts with the game in clever ways.
For those looking to fight on, now’s a good time. KI may be 10 years old but it’s still a fun fighting game. Who knows, maybe a surge of its playerbase will get Xbox interested to fund a new fighting game.
Killer Instinct (2013), and the premium Killer Instinct (2013) Anniversary Edition, are available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store).
Killer Instinct (2013) Anniversary Edition is also available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.
Source: Killer Instinct