TiC Podcast didn’t shy from putting the burning questions to Microsoft Studios Creative Director regarding Killer Instinct. Host KoR x Kal El asked Kenn Lobb about Killer Instinct’s modular pay model, it’s longevity and it’s season based development cycle.
“(…) Do you see Killer Instinct continuing to grow for the entire life cycle of the Xbox One, have you or Iron Galaxy thought of recreating the original K.I. stages? Will fatalities make a return in season 3? and in light of Street Fighter V being exclusive, die hard fans like Raymond Franklin want Microsoft to market K.I. beyond Xbox One, like on Prime Time TV – is that in the plans?”
Regarding Killer Instinct’s season based model (which sees fighter packs and features arrive as DLC), Ken Lobb said that Microsoft wished to do something differently with K.I.: “When you think about what fighting games have been, there’s nothing with it – but the idea that you change a fighting game a little and release it again? it felt like we could do something a little different with Killer Instinct.” So don’t expect any Killer Instinct Ultra EX Alpha Tag Tournament Extreme SKU’s from Microsoft Studios.
Ken Lobb elaborated further to say that he tends to stick to one or two characters whilst playing Tekken and Soul Calibre and other fighting games, so why not allow players to purchase one character and still have access to play online? The modular design also allowed them to ship the game ‘early’ and take consumer feedback regarding balance and so on to improve the game.
Regarding marketing, Ken Lobb said “the reason that people buy games have changed dramatically”, elaborating further he described the current marketing situation for gaming, that being YouTube and Twitch, essentially word of mouth and information sharing is just as effective as ‘call to action’ product shorts on TV. Ken Lobb said that Killer Instinct has seen millions of players try the game due to the freemium model, and that TV wouldn’t necessarily help that along. Microsoft likely has data to corroborate this, and often utilizes big data to determine marketing practices. Ken also didn’t rule out further retail releases for Season 2, perhaps via an updated bundle with Season 1.
On fatalities, Ken Lobb said that they were perhaps a bit too ‘comedic’. “Fatalities in the original Killer Instinct were arguably a little too comedic.” Also stating that the humiliations were a side project “late at night”, rather than a core feature. “Like a lot of our games, I’m very passionate about what we do and don’t do with our games – but the reality is I don’t tell the people that work for me what to do. I have ‘passioned discussions about what I think they should be doing.” He fell short of stating explicitly whether or not they would return, but perhaps if fans continue to let their opinions heard the developers will be willing to discuss their inclusion.
Ken also offered some insight on the Double Helix acquisition on the part of Amazon, amongst some interesting bits of history from the development on the first games. I urge you to listen to the full podcast below, and be sure to subscribe to TiC Podcast.
Jez C (MSFTY) is a games journalist, Executive Editor at Windows Central. They contributed 39 articles to ICXM in 2015, focused on game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: now leads Xbox coverage at Future plc’s Windows Central as Executive Editor.