Killer Instinct Adds Ultimate Moves Next Week, But Only For Some Characters

Killer Instinct's Ultimate moves have a release date and a price, although you shouldn't assume your favorite character will necessarily receive one.

Following last month's announcement of Ultimates coming to the game, developer Iron Galaxy has answered a number of questions about their release and how they'll work. In a blog post, it said that a total of 15 characters will each be getting one (not counting Shadow Jago, who is the only character that already has one). That means a number of characters will be without them, at least for the time being.

The first batch of Ultimates will release on on February 14, with Jago, Maya, Thunder, TJ Combo, and Tusk receiving theirs on that day. The other 10 will be added in the months ahead, but no specific timeline was provided.

Players won't have to pay a dime for any of these Ultimates. Iron Galaxy explained that it intended to offer them for free from the start, and that Microsoft felt the same way before Iron Galaxy could share its proposal. In meeting with Microsoft executive Ken Lobb, who previously worked on the original Killer Instinct at Rare, he insisted, "Ultimates are a part of the original KI, and came with the game when you put your quarter in the machine. They MUST be included for free."

Once the Ultimates are released, you'll be able to download them from the in-game store. You won't need to unlock them or do anything special in order to access them. They're used by starting an Ultra combo and then hitting the LP and LK buttons, but require you to still be on your first health bar.

Having previously revealed Jago's Ultimate, Iron Galaxy released the video above of Thunder's. The other three coming this month will be revealed over the course of this week.