Xbox Wants To Bring Killer Instinct Back When The Time Is Right

Rare's cult-classic fighting game series Killer Instinct was revived back in 2013, but the reboot has seen very little new content added to it since its third season finished in 2017. Killer Instinct isn't dead though, as Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently mentioned his interest in revisiting the series when the time is right.

"There are so many good games in our catalog that we'd love to revisit," Spencer said in the latest Dropped Frames podcast via VGC. "The response when we did Killer Instinct at the launch of Xbox One was fantastic. Not everybody inside of the Xbox organization kind of saw what that game could become. I will just say, Matt [Booty] and I have discussed many times Killer Instinct and where we'd like to go with it."

According to Spencer, a Killer Instinct re-re-revival will need "the right team and the right opportunity" to be found. It took 17 years for the series to find a new home at Microsoft, and even in a genre dominated by Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and newer fighting games like Guilty Gear Strive, Killer Instinct still had a dedicated fanbase when developer Double Helix and Iron Galaxy took over from Rare. Double Helix was acquired by Amazon in 2014, so any new Killer Instinct games won't be handled by the studio responsible for its first season of content. A documentary on the game was released last year and explored the rebirth of the series as well the legacy of the series.

If you're in the mood for Killer Instinct or any other excellent Xbox titles worth trying out, don't forget to check out the 20 best Xbox Game Pass games that you can play right now.