Killer Instinct, the third entry of the ever-popular fighting game franchise, has recently turned 10 years old. To celebrate this momentous occasion, developer Iron Galaxy Studios has made the base game available for free to fans and new players alike.
Combo Breaker!
After being sold to Xbox and PC players for a decade at this point, the base game of Killer Instinct (2013) is now available free of charge. James Goddard, Principal Design Director at Microsoft and Game Director for Killer Instinct, said this in a recent blog post.
Goddard also announced that all of the existing versions of the game will be retired and replaced by the Anniversary Edition, which is priced at $29.99. Those who are looking to buy the Anniversary Edition will get the complete roster of 29 fighters, as well as all of the premium content that was ever released for the fighting game. This includes bonus fighters like Shadow Jago and Omen, VIP Double XP boosters, and exclusive accessories for all characters, among many others.
Players who have already purchased the Killer Instinct Definitive Editions will no longer have to spend money. That's because they will be upgraded to the Anniversary Edition for free.
Take note that while players can get goodies that were introduced in the previous versions of the game, some will, sadly, not be included in the Anniversary Edition. These are:
- Definitive Edition App (featuring developer interviews, concept art, Killer Cuts soundtrack)
- Xbox KI Classic 1 & 2
Lastly, premium content that was not available on Steam, such as the Permanent VIP Double XP Booster, as well as the "Golden God" and "Argent Shroud" cosmetics for Gargos, will be available on the platform for the first time as part of the Anniversary Edition upgrade.
Read Also: Killer Instinct Hands-On [E3 2013]
Balancing Changes
Aside from the Anniversary Edition, Goddard said that the development team is going to release a new update for Killer Instinct very soon. The upcoming patch features balancing changes for some fighters and bug fixes for those who did not receive any adjustments.
Here are just some of the changes players can expect from the update:
FIGHTERS
- Jago
- Increased Jago's forward and backward walk speeds by 10%.
- Drastically improved the hitbox and active time of Jago's jumping Heavy Punch.
- Made the first active frame of Shadow Wind Kick reach lower. Also made the pushbox taller for the first 4 frames.
- Glacius
- Reduced frame advantage after a successful Combo Breaker to 0 (was +4).
- Reduced pushback on block from the Light, Medium, and Heavy Cold Shoulder attacks, so that their frame data actually matters.
- Added 4 frames of recovery time on whiff and block to Instinct Teleport Puddle Punch (both versions).
- Thunder
- Limited the time window in which a followup must be chosen after all versions of Sammamish. Visually, once Thunder's feet start to drop below Jago's head (using Jago as a measuring stick), followups will no longer be possible.
- Increased forward and backward walk speeds by 20% to compensate for the longer landing recovery on Sammamish, and to help him play a more grounded game with his strong set of normal and special attacks.
- Spinal
- Increased Spinal's forward walk speed by 20%.
- Increased Spinal's backward walk speed by 10%.
- Fulgore
- Fulgore can now pip cancel Blade Dash on whiff or block into any of the following special moves; Energy Bolt, Eye Laser, Plasmaport, Plasma Slice.
- Both Light and Medium Eye Lasers have had their Hitstop/Blockstop time increased from 6 frames to 15 frames. This results in a much more legible and reactable freeze frame when blocking each hit.
- Aganos
- Reduced the amount of hitstun inflicted by the Medium and Shadow versions of Natural Disaster to prevent them from comboing directly into Shadow Payload Assault.
- Reduced Wall Crash damage to 48 per wall (was 60).
Now that the base game is available for free, will you be playing Killer Instinct anytime soon?
Killer Instinct is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Windows Store and Steam.
Related Article: Killer Instinct Getting No Mercy Finishers? Shadow Jago's Ultimate Combo Could Be a Sign [VIDEO]
