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Phil Spencer says Xbox ‘wants to continue’ with Killer Instinct, but “It’s about finding the right team and the right opportunity"

Jakisthe

Jakisthe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,578
Honestly good.

The circumstances that led to KI2013 were balanced on a knifes edge, and we got brilliance from it. I'd rather they take their time making sure all the parts are correct than a slapdash job. Throwing money at an artistic endeavor doesn't mean it'll necessarily work.
 
tapedeck

tapedeck

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,982
At this point I sound like a broken record but here's what they should do..

MS needs to spend whatever money necessary to build a AAA 'KI Team'. Get the core KI guys formerly of Double Helix back, grab John Bautista (DH guy whose now at Zenimax Online) to join them along with James Goddard, Ken Lobb etc. The KI documentary showed how gutted DH was when they couldn't work on KI anymore and they had a ton of stuff they were looking forward to adding to the game..the finished KI 2013 was great but I'm sure DH sees things they'd like to do..build and improve on what's already a fantastic product. Once you have that core group established fill in the team with new hires as necessary, test the waters with Keits from IG to see if he'd be interested in helping with game balance, he'd indicated he's up for doing KI again.

The bottom line is the pieces ARE THERE to create a stellar KI Team, MS just needs to show us the IP actually matters to them with a fucking halfway decent budget and at minimum 3 years of full development. I honestly don't give a fuck if I have to wait till Fall 2025 to play it as long as there's the support and money behind it and they take the time to do it right.

/mild rant
 
Babu93

Babu93

Member
Feb 9, 2021
2,375
DanteMenethil said:
I mean double helix had no experience doing fighting games either
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I'd recommend this documentary about the KI revival. It was kind of a "perfect storm" that led to the return of KI. Not that they shouldn't continue to explore bringing it back, it just opened my eyes to the fact that these things are much harder than just having the desire to do it.




I think it should be pointed out though, that Microsoft's gaming legacy is probably in a better shape than it has ever been. The ability to play their legacy franchises through back compat, to the love given to the Halo with MCC or the Age of Empires series with the Definitive Editions and Age 4, to revivals like Flight Sim, Fable and Perfect Dark. So if there's any time to have hope that franchises like KI or Banjo will come back, it's now.
 
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Camjo-Z

Camjo-Z

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,510
Sou Da said:
Nah he's in the right here. We don't need another Banjo game just have one
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This is a silly mindset to have and one that could be applied to literally any sequel. Are the people in this thread who want another Killer Instinct just "wanting one to have one"? What we want is more of what we loved but improved and expanded upon, not something wildly different. It's not like these are long-running series getting stale and barely justifying their existence with endless lazy retreads.
 
Host Samurai

Host Samurai

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,168
Well if those Netherrealm rumors are true, maybe they can do it. I just tried KI on my PC last week and it's awesome. Really loved the Series D-Pad too, which really caught me by surprise.
 
TheGhost

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
Camjo-Z said:
MS is sitting on way too many beloved Rare IP to be constantly waiting around until the perfect opportunity happens to do something with them. I don't even really believe that statement considering Playtonic is the best possible studio to do a new Banjo game and has stated their willingness to make said game on many occasions, yet is still not making a Banjo game.
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Because it's probably not worth the money to make right now? Banjo is not going to magically sell millions of Xbox's and Gamepass subs.

put out another KI for what? The cost to appeal to a dwindling fighting community? Not worth it. It's not going to grow the community.
 
Bman94

Bman94

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,547
Yep, so this means we are MANY years away from a sequel. Honestly, Microsoft doesn't need to FIND a studio for KI, they need to build one specifically for it like they did with Halo, Gears, Forza and Age of Empires. Fighting games require a LOT of on going development and constant and consistent support. Studios like Nethherealms and Arcsys are constantly involved with projects so there's no way they'll be able to handle another project. Other fighting game studios like the ones from Capcom wouldn't be a good "match" with KI. They need to construct a new studio who can give the series just and have that studio's full focus on KI.
 
litebrite

litebrite

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,832
Bman94 said:
Yep, so this means we are MANY years away from a sequel. Honestly, Microsoft doesn't need to FIND a studio for KI, they need to build one specifically for it like they did with Halo, Gears, Forza and Age of Empires. Fighting games require a LOT of on going development and constant and consistent support. Studios like Nethherealms and Arcsys are constantly involved with projects so there's no way they'll be able to handle another project. Other fighting game studios like the ones from Capcom wouldn't be a good "match" with KI. They need to construct a new studio who can give the series just and have that studio's full focus on KI.
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Unfortunately it's likely Killer Instinct isn't a big enough franchise where MS would feel confident enough to invest and build a studio specifically to create games for it.
 
cyrribrae

cyrribrae

Chicken Chaser
Member
Jan 21, 2019
12,723
litebrite said:
Unfortunately it's likely Killer Instinct isn't a big enough franchise where MS would feel confident enough to invest and build a studio specifically to create games for it.
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I would be shocked and honestly confused if they built a studio for KI. Sorry KI fans, it just does not make sense. Now, if they set up a long term partnership with a long term plan like they have for Flight Sim.. I could see that working. But, you're not going to plan for 10 years unless you have a REALLY REALLY perfect team that you have a really high degree of confidence in...

Hence, this is where we are now.
 
LSauchelli

LSauchelli

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,036
Hire Maximilian and ex-Iron Galaxy/Double Helix devs and let them prototype something.

Or get nWay. They did a fantastic job with Power Rangers.
 
Camjo-Z

Camjo-Z

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,510
TheGhost said:
Because it's probably not worth the money to make right now? Banjo is not going to magically sell millions of Xbox's and Gamepass subs.

put out another KI for what? The cost to appeal to a dwindling fighting community? Not worth it. It's not going to grow the community.
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I thought the whole point of Game Pass was to offer variety and provide an opportunity for their devs to make games that add value in that sense even if they wouldn't necessarily do gangbusters outside of a subscription service. I've also seen Banjo's ugly Nuts & Bolts mug on plenty of Game Pass ads before so clearly they think he's relevant enough to be using as promotion.
 
eDIGI

eDIGI

Artist
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
491
I wish they could snag some of the double helix folks away from Amazon and start an internal studio to work on the game with a budget and nice def cycle that's not rushed. I remember when KI was announced I met a few of the devs at a MadCatz event and you could just see how excited they were to talk to fans about what they were doing and just fighting games in general. I think I spoke to Berserker Mike the longest, the most humble guy man.
 
Bman94

Bman94

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,547
litebrite said:
Unfortunately it's likely Killer Instinct isn't a big enough franchise where MS would feel confident enough to invest and build a studio specifically to create games for it.
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I can't see that when they invested in purchasing smaller studios like Undead Labs or Compulsion games. I highly doubt State of Decay was a major system seller or IP but they still invested in the future of the studio and brand. And Compulsion's last game was okay at best but again they see the need to build upon it. Yeah both of those IP would be AA tier for Microsoft, but none the less they want them part of the fold.

Microsoft has a huge lock on Western RPGs, 1st and 3rd Person Shooters, a stellar Racing franchise and the potential for great 3D platformers. Fighting game is something they are severely lacking and when you have cases like the fighting game industry that is almost majority dependent on Japanese developers who often skip over the Xbox or leave it as an after thought, they kinda need KI to be a big franchise for them for the FGC community.
 
GooberDooberCBC

GooberDooberCBC

Member
Sep 7, 2020
2,340
LSauchelli said:
Hire Maximilian and ex-Iron Galaxy/Double Helix devs and let them prototype something.

Or get nWay. They did a fantastic job with Power Rangers.
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Max would be one of the first people I call if I am Phil in terms of trying to get the project started. He can answer questions like is the game fun, does it feel good, etc. He could provide some consultation in that regard and help them with QA stuff. I think MS needs to find a dev team that can work on fighting games, action RPGs, and more E rated content. I think those are the genres that they are lacking in diversity the most. They mainly rely on third-party studios for those types of games but they could stand to add studios that can supply that content from a first-party standpoint.
 
| TrusT |

| TrusT |

Member
Apr 19, 2020
1,901
davepoobond said:
Killer Instinct should just change genres at this point. I feel like any appeal it has is covered by Mortal Kombat.
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giphy.gif



Get Mick Gordon back and setup a team at IG to handle it. Bingo
 
Z-Brownie

Z-Brownie

Member
Nov 6, 2017
3,912
i hope so, my favorite fighting game from last gen

davepoobond said:
Killer Instinct should just change genres at this point. I feel like any appeal it has is covered by Mortal Kombat.
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I guess you don't play it, right? KI is a unique fighting game, full of mind games and not just "typing combos", it does have it's own place in the FGC and is pretty beloved.
 
davepoobond

davepoobond

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,608
www.squackle.com
GusZamboni said:
i hope so, my favorite fighting game from last gen



I guess you don't play it, right? KI is a unique fighting game, full of mind games and not just "typing combos", it does have it's own place in the FGC and is pretty beloved.
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i played the SNES and N64 versions. no idea what they did with the Xbox-only versions of the games.

point being, its basically out of the general zeitgeist, and they dont seem very motivated to make a fighting game of any sort.
 
Sydle

Sydle

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,280
So is IG over it or did something happen where Xbox doesn't want to work with them?
 
JusDoIt

JusDoIt

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
34,720
South Central Los Angeles
Why y'all keep saying hire ex-Iron Galaxy folks?

Was there some IG layoff or mass exodus I don't know about? I thought most of the KI team still worked at IG but y'all keep saying "ex."
 
spacer

spacer

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,960
I watched that documentary a couple people posted. It was very entertaining. I didn't realize Killer Instinct had such a following. I remember when it came out for the Xbox One launch. I remember hearing ok-to-good things about it in the initial launch window, and then basically nothing. I just assumed it faded into obscurity.
 
CristianTheWriter

CristianTheWriter

Member
Oct 29, 2017
357
Transistor said:
Did Killer Instinct make enough money to justify spinning up a whole new studio just for it? Legitimately curious. That could be why he's saying "personal passion" as an existing studio is welcome to take a crack if there's enough passion there to do it.
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The IP and franchise was a huge success in terms of growing a community and people playing it. Over like 10 million peopled played it, that being said being that accessible was mostly due to not enforcing monetary blocks.

IMO the reason they stopped doing seasons was because they couldn't find a good way to monetize the game. They tried by doing the Shadow Lords mode which is where the Microtrans would happen but I don't think anyone actually spent enough time in that mode. They even gave you KI GOLD the last season which you could use for the mode the get the modifiers I think.

Going to be funny when the League of Legends fighting game gets the majority of its money from 20 dollar skins. Wonder if the FGC will accept that or reject it. Seeing as how Riot tends to go ham in the esports side I think they'll still attract players and become the number 1 fighting game esport.
 
CristianTheWriter

CristianTheWriter

Member
Oct 29, 2017
357
MCD

MCD

Honest Work
Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,803
I think Phil statement here is not just for the media or fans but also for the devs. Basically an ad for finding the right devs/studio.

At least that's what I think.
 
Muzzymate

Muzzymate

Member
Oct 27, 2017
236
Ohio
I'd happily just take some uprezed versions for the Series S|X. I'd be over the moon if I heard they were making a new one with Mick Gordon again.
 
DJ Lushious

DJ Lushious

Enhanced Xperience
Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,330
Prine said:
Watch



Easy to say stuff. Executing is another matter altogether.
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I really like the new Killer Instinct, and fighting games in general, but I only got to play KI in-person once with an old friend and it was one of the best fighting game experiences I'd ever had. The game is so exceptional and watching that documentary has given me even more appreciation for it.

I'm hesitant to hop online, though, for fear of being absolutely ROFLStomped.

A sequel would be a good way to "reset" and put everyone on the same playing field. 🤔 So, Microsoft, please make it happen (if not just for me)!
 
W.S.

W.S.

Honest Work
Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,136
CristianTheWriter said:
That's the problem, there are few that can match the passion Double Helix had, let alone have experience making fighting games.

Right now, as much as people don't want to hear it, NeatherRealm is the only viable option to make a sequel for Killer Instinct since they pretty much have all the fighting game talent in North America. Yeah Iron Galaxy and Skull Girls, the thing is IG doesn't want to be acquired since Bois left PlayStation to run IG and Skull Girls devs were made just for Skull Girls.

Only other team are the people who made the Power Rangers game, but let's be honest, KI was already a bootstrapped game as it was, the team behind the Power Rangers game is smaller than even Double Helix was.
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LSauchelli said:
Hire Maximilian and ex-Iron Galaxy/Double Helix devs and let them prototype something.

Or get nWay. They did a fantastic job with Power Rangers.
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nWay is really the only other studio I can see that could handle the KI IP, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is a very good fighter with a great combo system. Hell if Capcom/Marvel were smart they should probably also try to contract nWay for a new Marvel vs Capcom given how much Power Rangers plays like it.

Anyway, the Power Rangers game is really only limited by budget & Unity if you want to see richer higher fidelity visuals. nWay's not a huge team or anything but they're a decent size if you combine the California + Korean offices, plus I don't think Double Helix was that huge of a studio when they started working on KI anyway.
 
thepenguin55

thepenguin55

Member
Oct 28, 2017
11,815
sir_crocodile said:
what happened to double helix?

-edit amazon, that's wild. surprised ms never scooped them up
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I'm sure had they not been scooped by Amazon MS eventually would have but this was way before MS was buying up so many companies. It's a shame cause as others mentioned you need people who are passionate to work on a game like. IG did a great job with picking up where DH left off but I don't know that they're the right people to make a totally new entry. I say that as the vibe and style of the game changed pretty dramatically when IG took over.

While I'm sure there are KI fans at IG it felt like DH's goal was to revive KI and make the best KI game they could for new players and KI fans alike while it felt like IG's plan was to make KI the best fighting game they could. Maybe that's a weird distinction to make but even IG's character designs while all really good look like they're from a different game than DH's designs.
 
Thorn

Thorn

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
24,446
The Power Rangers devs would be able to do the series justice IMO. Get them and Max as a consultant and Mick Gordon back for music and I think it's doable .
 
Welfare

Welfare

Prophet of Truth - You’re my Numberwall
Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,914
Buy Double Helix from Amazon. They've done nothing.
 
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