Killer Instinct “Not Free to Play”, Gameplay and Payment Model Explained

Microsoft’s Ken Lobb recently clarified the payment model for the upcoming Xbox One-exclusive Killer Instinct, being developed by Double Helix Games and launching with the console. Talking to Eurogamer, he stated that it is not free to play in any capacity.

“I just want to get as many people playing as I can. Some people are like, ‘oh, free-to-play.’ No. It’s not free-to-play. What is free-to-play? It’s a thing you really can’t ever own at all. Day one, if you want to buy our game, buy it. You own it. There’s no grind for little coins that unlock things later. None of that.

“The free part is, day one, you can download Jago for free and you get the whole game with Jago. The story mode comes later, but you get his full tutorial, full practice mode and you can go online and play against everybody. So you have the full game with just Jago.

“Then if you decide you like Thunder for example, you can buy Thunder for five bucks or equivalent. Maybe that’s all you want, so why should you have to pay forty bucks? Just pay five and then you have Thunder. If you buy the $40 pack, there are a couple of other little things you’ll be able to buy, but you’re done. It’s not like there’s some buy coins to unlock thing. That’s why I’ve always said this is not a free-to-play game.”

There are also plans to have characters released in seasons, with eight characters this year and an additional eight next year, with each season retailing for $20. As Lobb stated, you can buy the first season and then “You can pay $20 again and now you have 16 characters, or you pay $40 again and you’ll get the everything version.

“I like to call it, we’ve just made the world’s most generous demo. And if you want to buy the game as a bunch of little premium DLCs, go ahead. It’s not free-to-play.”

But it will be fun to play, right?