10 years ago today, on November 22, 2013, Microsoft released Killer Instinct, a reboot of the classic fighting game originally launched by Rare, as an Xbox One launch title. It wasn"t a major success but it had a solid following over the years. In 2016, it was released for Windows 10 PCs by Microsoft, and in 2017 it made its Steam debut, with cross-play with the Xbox One edition.
Today, Microsoft and the game"s current developer Iron Galaxy announced plans via a Twitch stream to launch a new edition of the game, along with a new patch that includes a number of balance changes for many of the game"s fighters.
The new version is being called, naturally, the Killer Instinct Anniversary Edition and it will cost $29.99 for Xbox, PC and Steam. It will replace the Killer Instinct Definitive Edition and will include all 29 fighters, along with a VIP Double XP Booster, all of the game"s seasonal accessories, and more.
People who already own the Definitive Edition on Xbox and PC will be able to get the Anniversary Edition for free. If you own any Steam edition, you will also get the Anniversary Edition for free. That includes people who get Killer Instinct via Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.
Xbox players will need to know that the KI Anniversary Edition will not include the classic Killer Instinct 1 and 2 games that were available in the KI Definitive Edition Xbox app. The Twitch stream participants indicated those games will return in some form but no details were revealed.
The free-to-play Killer Instinct base game will be sticking around and it will finally be made available for Steam PC players. The free edition will include one fighter that will rotate weekly and the rotation will include all 29 players.
As of this writing, we don"t have any info on when the KI Anniversary Edition will launch. The stream is going over the many balance changes that many of its fighters will get with this new patch. We will update this post when we learn more.