Killer Instinct is F2P, offers one free character at launch

Killer Instinct will be free-to-play and offer only one free character at launch: Jago.

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The newly-announced Killer Instinct for Xbox One is apparently embracing the free-to-play model. It's a digital-only release, and includes just one character to start. The rest, you'll have to pay for.

IGN reports that Jago is the free character on launch day, and the game will offer returning and new characters for a price. That cost is undetermined, for the time being. If the price is steep, we can probably expect to see quite a bit of Jago vs Jago matches online.

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  • reply
    June 11, 2013 9:05 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Killer Instinct is F2P, offers one free character at launch.

    Killer Instinct will be free-to-play and offer only one free character at launch: Jago.

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      June 11, 2013 9:07 AM

      free. I like free.

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      June 11, 2013 9:08 AM

      [deleted]

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        June 11, 2013 9:13 AM

        It's amazing to me how companies keep fucking up the F2P model even after others have done it so right.

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      June 11, 2013 9:11 AM

      This warrants more than just a facepalm. I am hammering nails with my forehead into my desk.

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      June 11, 2013 9:15 AM

      This would go over better if they just called that a demo.

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        June 11, 2013 9:51 AM

        It would. But all of the fighting game demos, they had 2 characters you can pick from. So even a demo is superior to this crap.

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      June 11, 2013 9:17 AM

      Nothing really wrong with it except they should include 2 free fighters and they need to get the pricing right. A buck each imo.

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      June 11, 2013 9:18 AM

      I hope people like Jago mirror matches.

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      June 11, 2013 9:18 AM

      It does guarantee that everyone who buys an xbo will try KI and then fight jago until they're sick. Tekken is also going free to play.

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      June 11, 2013 9:20 AM

      Should have had Orchid be the character, at least the nerd boners would have temporarily distracted folk.

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      June 11, 2013 9:40 AM

      This sucks I hate free stuff! Um actually what's wrong with this so how much can they charge per character £3.00? Even if I got 10 characters which I wouldn't that'd still be cheaper than a full priced game.

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        June 11, 2013 9:41 AM

        My hopes just went down the drain. It'll probably be mediocre.

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      June 11, 2013 9:53 AM

      ID BUY THAT FOR A 4.99 PER CHARACTER/8.99 2 CHARACTER COMBO/WEEKEND FEMALE CHARACTER PACK (ALL 4 FEMALE CHARACTERS FOR 17.99/HOLIDAY PACK(ALL CHARACTERS WITH GREEN OR RED 19.99 LIMITED TIME)

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      June 11, 2013 9:55 AM

      I wonder if they'll let you test out a character before you buy it. There would be nothing worse than paying for a character that you hate playing or is unbalanced against the standard that everyone will be fighting against, jago.

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      June 11, 2013 10:05 AM

      I was kinda hoping for a revamp of the old school 3D Models with the shiny neon/bright effects and bloom.

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      June 11, 2013 10:06 AM

      I will buy the fuck out of Saberwulf and Chief Thunder.

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      June 11, 2013 10:23 AM

      This is a bad idea for a F2P. It needs to offer more upfront.

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      June 11, 2013 10:28 AM

      Jago vs jago. High pitched man screams.. ..All day, everyday.

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      June 11, 2013 10:31 AM

      I have no issue with this as long as you can pay regular retail price for all characters and levels.

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        June 11, 2013 2:16 PM

        and what did marvel do with their buying of characters? :D

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        June 11, 2013 7:32 PM

        I don't think you understand what F2P actually means. It means you pay 3 or 4 times the regular 59.99 price to experience everything you would normally get for 59.99

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      June 11, 2013 10:44 AM

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=O6_Ob32JScw Some impressions from someone who regularly contributes to the fighting game community. Also, they are play testing an arcade cabinet at a bar called Stellas in the LA area for people that want to check it out (mentioned in the video).

      Not enough to make me want to get an xbox one, but wanted to give some info without blindly bashing it.

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        June 11, 2013 2:22 PM

        Hey. It sucks and you sucks. DEAL WITH IT

        (I dont want to spend 500 bucks to play KI fukkk me )

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          June 11, 2013 3:24 PM

          yet you know you will, and its 560bucks

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          June 11, 2013 4:15 PM

          KI sucks dude. Actually not that excited after seeing the footage. Save your money for anime fighter and nextgen Hori mega sticks.

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      June 11, 2013 10:57 AM

      Ah, now the rape joke makes sense..... :p

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      June 11, 2013 12:36 PM

      This is becoming a growing trend on mobile platforms: advertise your game as "free," then offer barebones content until you pay to unlock the full experience.

      Come on. ONE free character? Two would be better, three ideal. But ONE?!

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      June 11, 2013 12:36 PM

      Have super OP char...everyone buys him/her....patch that char, buff some other char...everyone buys that one......you see were im going with this

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      June 11, 2013 1:41 PM

      You need 2000 Killer Bucks to unlock Glacius.

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      June 11, 2013 1:55 PM

      I would have rather it just stay dead. I want the old Rare back :(

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      June 11, 2013 2:15 PM

      [deleted]

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      June 11, 2013 2:18 PM

      haha what a joke

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      June 11, 2013 2:20 PM

      this used to exist, it's called Shareware. the only difference now is that I bet getting all the characters will cost more than 60 xbones which is bullshit. I still think it's awesome though cause you don't have to spend 60 bucks if you don't want cause it's free.

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        June 11, 2013 2:21 PM

        UPDATE – During today’s Killer Instinct exhibition on Mad Catz’ live E3 2013 stream, representatives from Double Helix Games said that the original report saying their game would be strictly free-to-play was a misconception. Killer Instinct will be offered as a complete digital title, but the demo is where things will get interesting.

        The trial version will feature Jago as the only playable character, allowing players to try out a limited version of the game. If they want to see more but are still unsure about buying the full game, additional characters, modes, and other features will be available to purchase. This will allow new players to flesh out the demo to fit their needs.

        They also announced that Killer Instinct will be made available in various editions, including the standard package, collector’s bundles, and more.


        http://shoryuken.com/2013/06/11/killer-instinct-launching-with-xbox-one-in-november-as-free-to-play-digital-title-jago-announced-as-sole-free-character/

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          June 11, 2013 2:24 PM

          Ok, that's kind of cool.

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          June 11, 2013 2:26 PM

          bringing back shareware is an awesome idea if the costs manage to stay reasonable

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            June 11, 2013 3:47 PM

            I fired up Blake Stone 1 from GOG a while back. Since one of the concepts behind GOG is not to mess with the content of the releases, the game still has all the "buy now!" and "ordering info" stuff from the Shareware era (though why they have it in the full version still I'm not sure, I guess if you wanted to buy more copies).

            What was Apogee charging for the full, registered 60-level game? $59.99. Yeah, they were asking for Modern Warfare prices on a game which I'm pretty sure shipped on a single floppy disk. I'm pretty sure Wolfenstein 3-D was the same deal. Oh, and they had a special deal going - both Blake Stone 1 and Wolfenstein 3-D (60 levels each) for $89.99.

            And the thing is that was actually a good price for the era. Hell, occasionally a SNES game would hit $65-$75. So when I see people complaining about $59.99 for a game these days I just laugh. Compared to the Apogee era, a AAA video game at $59.99 is a ridiculous bargain.

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          June 11, 2013 4:11 PM

          this right here is how F2P should be done.

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          June 11, 2013 11:05 PM

          Again, just as with the Last Guardian info (as well as the recent Titan misinfo), thanks internet news!

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      June 11, 2013 2:38 PM

      Remember when you could actually share shareware?

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      June 11, 2013 3:57 PM

      I wonder if other characters unlock based on victory conditions or achievements or xp like other f2p games. If it is a straight up MT model for buying characters then why not do a premium release.

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      June 11, 2013 3:59 PM

      Is it me, or do the graphics seem terrible? I saw polygons on the character models. Meh.

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      June 11, 2013 4:01 PM

      [deleted]

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      June 11, 2013 4:15 PM

      No items, Jago only, Final Destination

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