Killer Instinct game revived after EVO sports event moves online

This year’s Evo esports fighting game event was originally cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But now it is to be replaced by an online tournament called Evo Online. The announcement first hit via Evo’s Twitter account, where it revealed that Xbox Game Studios’ Killer Instinct title would be returning to the tournament.

Online support is important for fighter titles

This comes as incredible news, especially considering it hasn’t been in the tournament for the last four years. Killer Instinct has a very passionate fanbase that still remains quite active despite the title not having received content update in years. Its return to Evo Online isn’t exactly a resurrection of a dead game, so much as it is a return to the spotlight.

The inclusion of Killer Instinct is an interesting development. Likely its return is due to the game’s strong support for online matches, something incredibly important now that Evo is moving online this year. This theory gains further credibility considering how Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was originally planned to be part of the Evo 2020 event, but won’t be part of Evo Online. Nintendo’s fighting game is quite popular within real-world esports events, but its lag and connectivity issues due to Nintendo’s online service make it a rather unpopular choice for online tournaments.

In comparison, Killer Instinct’s online matches are powered by Microsoft’s cloud services, which are much more reliable. Killer Instinct was a Day One launch title for Microsoft’s Xbox One console in 2016. It is a free-to-play title based loosely on the original Killer Instinct games and features a mix of returning and original characters. It also offers 4K visuals when played on an Xbox One X console, Xbox Achievements, a moving musical score, numerous unlockables, and guest fighters from other franchises like Halo and Battletoads.

Where you can play Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct is available to play on both Xbox One consoles and PCs (via Windows 10 or Steam) and can be played with all content unlocked for free as part of an active Xbox Game Pass subscription. The game also happens to be one of the first video games deemed playable via Project xCloud, Microsoft’s cloud streaming platform.

Are you a Killer Instinct fan? Are you super excited that it’s returning to the Evo online event? Let us know what you think in the comments below or on social media @SlashShout.

Ryan Goodrich

Ryan has been writing since long before he could even write. He's written resumes, software user guides, consumer electronic reviews, and myriad web content spanning a variety of industries. But now he's writing about video games, which is much more interesting.

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