Update: Shaun Himmerick deleted his tweets about Mortal Kombat X not requiring a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription. You will need a membership to play online just like with other games.
Xbox Live has had a subscription fee for online play since genesis. The fee supports the salaries of award winning support staff, and arguably the most stable online gaming community in the world. With the shilling out of the way, some Xbox fans may be happy to hear that upcoming violence simulator Mortal Kombat X will not require Xbox Live Gold for ‘any feature’.
Executive Producer Shaun Himmerick noted that PS Plus would not be required for any feature of MKX, following it up to state that neither would XBLG.
@slikk03 @berserkerlbs no needed for any feature.
— lover of tacos (@lover_of_tacos) February 22, 2015
This would be a departure from the usual fare charged by Xbox games for online play, which in Mortal Kombat X, takes the form of Faction Wars. Players can join a faction made up of other players, and accrue points for taking on gameplay challenges – including fighting players from other factions. More on that can be seen in the developer video below:
MKX is looking to throw a curveball in the competition between new gen fighting games. Arguably more visceral and violent than Killer Instinct or Street Fighter, MKX may carry more appeal with some of us who weren’t loved enough as children – apart from me of course, I simply appreciate its gameplay systems more… yep… that’s right.
Which fighting game is for you? Killer Instinct? Street Fighter? Dead or Alive? None at all? Hit the comments!
^Jez (@MSFTY)
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.