Xbox One's Killer Instinct "not some hacked-off remake," Microsoft says

The upcoming free-to-play Killer Instinct for Xbox One is "not some hacked-off remake," according to Microsoft Game Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer.

Speaking with OXM, Spencer said Microsoft has appropriated the necessary resources to the game to make it one that "people fall in love with.

"We are building this to be a great fighting game. This is not some hacked-off remake," Spencer said. "We're working with Mad Catz on control, we've got Rare people looking at it. We've got people focusing on how it's going to play because we want to build a great fighting game built for a live ecosystem. This isn't going to cash in on the name; it's going to be a real frontline game that people fall in love with."

As for why Microsoft chose to bring back Killer Instinct in the first place, Spencer said the reasons are numerous. First, he explained Microsoft was passionate about the series and the right Rare creative talent--like Ken Lobb--were available to "make sure it's tried and true."

Another reason was because Microsoft saw an opportunity to leverage some of the Xbox One's new features, including asynchronous matchmaking. This system will set up a new match for players while they are playing their current game. Comments on social media also played a part, Spencer said.

"I won't say the things on Twitter had no impact on it," Spencer said. "I wanted to bring back something and Killer Instinct just seemed like the right thing."

Killer Instinct was announced during Microsoft's briefing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June. The game will be available as a free download with fighter Jago, while players will need to pay for additional characters to expand their rosters. Pricing has not been announced.

The game is currently in development at Double Helix Games. No release date has been announced.