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Ten years ago, on November 22, 2013, the team at Xbox Game Studios Publishing released an all-new Killer Instinct for Xbox One and Windows PC. Since then, Killer Instinct has boasted a passionate, global community that has regularly featured at tournaments.
Earlier this year, at Evo 2023, we announced a special update to mark Killer Instinct’s 10th anniversary. Well, with the hard work of our partners at Iron Galaxy Studios, that update is finally here – and we’re officially calling it Killer Instinct Anniversary Edition. The Anniversary Edition includes some changes that we’re hoping will welcome players old and new!
Firstly, a new color scheme for our logo, theme, and remastered in-game user interface. (It’s a nod to Killer Instinct Gold, which released on the Nintendo 64 in 1996!)
Secondly, as we announced on Iron Galaxy’s developer stream last week, we’ve made significant balance updates to 19 of the 29 fighters. These updates, which range from minor bug fixes to major tuning adjustments, all came from extensive feedback from our community and pro tournament players. This rebalancing will create an entirely new meta for fighting gamers to explore – and we couldn’t be more excited to see what the players will do with it!
Another important update is to matchmaking, which has now been fully updated to PlayFab services after initial migrations this past May.
We’ve also made some changes to game rendering, including updating from Dx11 to Dx12 on Xbox consoles to help optimize graphics for Series X|S consoles. Xbox Series X consoles now display Killer Instinct in resolutions up to 4K at 60FPS, while Series S consoles reach up to 1440p at 60FPS. The combined updated theme and optimized graphics elevate the Killer Instinct experience players know and love for modern consoles and PCs.
This update also streamlines the many previous editions into two versions of Killer Instinct:
- The free to play version of Killer Instinct – now available on Steam for the first time! – includes all the previously mentioned updates. This version features one free weekly rotating Fighter and Single-Player, Local, and Ranked Modes, to ensure new players can experience all that Killer Instinct has to offer.
- The Killer Instinct Anniversary Edition will replace all paid versions of Killer Instinct, such as the Definitive Edition… and the good news is that anyone who has bought Premium content for the previous versions of Killer Instinct (Editions, Fighters, etc.) will get upgraded to the Anniversary Edition for free! Steam users will also receive, for the first time ever, the Permanent VIP Double XP Booster, and specialty colors for Gargos, Killer Instinct’s main boss.
For more information on what to expect from Killer Instinct Anniversary Edition, you can visit our News section on the Killer Instinct website.
We’re looking forward to hearing feedback from the Killer Instinct community! We would love it if you tag your social media posts with #PlayKI, so we can track all your feedback. On behalf of everyone who’s ever worked on Killer Instinct, thank you for ten amazing years!