Killer Instinct continues to have an interesting development cycle. The game was an Xbox One launch title developed by Double Helix Games. When it initially released, there were only a handful of characters available, with more coming over the months that followed. The second season had an even rockier run because Double Helix was bought by Amazon, which removed the development team from the project. The franchise was handed over to Dive Kick developer Iron Galaxy. The differences between the first and second seasons of Killer Instinct are clear, with the Capcom influence from Iron Galaxy difficult to ignore.
Whether you prefer the first season of Killer Instinct or the Capcom-influenced second season, a third season of Killer Instinct is on the way. The new season will begin in March 2016 under the watchful eye of Iron Galaxy. While full details on the new season have yet to be released, we have quite a bit of information to share with you on what to expect from Killer Instinct: Season 3.
The only characters left from the original Killer Instinct games are Tusk and Kim Wu from Killer Instinct 2, and the boss characters Eyedol and Gargos. Tusk and Kim Wu have been confirmed several times over by the development team, so consider those two a lock. We also know Rash from Battletoads fame will be the first guest character to grace the franchise. While we don’t yet know the order of release, Rash is virtually done and should be ready to go for launch. In addition, Kim Wu was teased at the end of the Rash reveal trailer, indicating she’ll be the next character released.
One of the biggest complaints concerning Season 2 was that it launched with only TJ Combo and Maya. There was no avoiding the issue because of the developer change from Double Helix to Iron Galaxy. However, the reason we’re seeing such a long gap between the end of Season 2 and the beginning of Season 3 is because Iron Galaxy is making sure the Season 3 launch is significant. We don’t know exactly what this means, but it’s safe to say we’ll see at least four to six characters available at the launch of Season 3.
We know Rash and Kim Wu will be among the characters available at launch. This only leaves Tusk from the classic characters. Whether we see Eyedol and Gargos or not, boss characters are generally saved for the end of the season. However, once Tusk is available, there won’t be any remaining legacy characters aside from the unconfirmed boss characters. It’s for this reason why Tusk may arrive later in the season, similar to Cinder’s late release in Season 2.
Rash, Tusk and Kim Wu aside, it’s likely we’ll see Gargos in some form. During Season 2 Iron Galaxy released Omen, the Herald of Gargos. That alone should confirm to most that Gargos will eventually arrive, otherwise there would be no reason for a herald. If we assume Season 3 includes at least eight characters, that brings us up to four characters accounted for. Players should expect at least three brand new characters and possibly a second guest character. Microsoft owns quite a few properties that would work well in Killer Instinct, and with Halo 5: Guardians releasing this month and Gears of War 4 scheduled to release in 2016, characters from either franchise could easily join Rash for a guest appearance.
Microsoft already confirmed that Killer Instinct will hit Windows 10 with Season 3. Players should expect cross platform play, and with the stellar netcode found in Killer Instinct on the Xbox One, it seems likely that will carry over to the PC release of the game. For the initial PC release, expect a revamped story mode for Season 3. Iron Galaxy already stated the story mode will evolve with each season, but due to time constraints during Season 2, the story mode wasn’t available at launch. We expect this to change with Season 3, especially with the game releasing on PC right alongside the Xbox One release.
Stay tuned to Prima Games as we offer more insight into Killer Instinct Season 3 as new details become available.
Published: Oct 16, 2015 11:32 pm