Killer Instinct is headed to Steam later this year

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
published

Killer Instinct has been available on PC through the Windows Store since early 2016, but the game is set to spread its wings even further later this year by launching on Steam. There's no exact date or release window available just yet concerning the launch behind Valve's digital doors, but it's a welcome move nearly four years after the game initially launched on Xbox One (via Polygon).

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Just ahead of the Steam news, Killer Instinct also took the wraps off of the latest fighter coming to its roster. Called Eagle, the new fighter's signature attacks involve his bow and a limited number of arrows. He also happens to be the brother of Killer Instinct's other Native American character, Thunder.

Eagle is set to hit Killer Instinct on June 27. You can get a better look at the fighter and a bit of his back story in the trailer below.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

12 Comments
  • Another short-sighted move that puts another nail in the coffin of the Windows 10 Store. Microsoft's slogan should be "Continually Sabotaging Ourselves". Their Windows gaming initiative will never take off now that they've repeatedly undermined their own Store by gifting away their exclusive IP to their biggest competitor. Exclusive IP is pretty much the only reason those PC gamers in the Steam monopoly would even consider checking out the Windows Store, but now that Microsoft has consistently undermined their own Store by releasing their IP on Steam as well (Ori, Gears of War: UE, Quantum Break, Halo: Spartan Assault, Halo: Spartan Strike, Halo Wars: DE), the damage is done. Curious Steam gamers will no longer consider using the Store; they'll just wait for it to come to Steam instead, setting up a self-fulfilling prophesy. The result is that those of us who use the Store will suffer: we'll see fewer games in the Store, especially Play Anywhere titles. At least Sony is smart enough to cling tightly to their exclusive content. Microsoft has no foresight and no patience to give something enough time to grow.
  • Everyone that would have bought it would have by now. This is smart of MS as it opens it to more users.
  • Then why not bring it to PS4 and Switch too?
  • I'd imagine because it's based off of Windows moving it to Steam is simple. I doubt this will work on Linux or Apple.
  • The way look at it is that microsoft is just taking in more money from people rather than keeping it exclusive for a game that's a about as old as the Xbox one. Maybe they are phasing out xboxes, maybe not. But it seems like everything is going subscription bases like office, Xbox live and maybe soon Windows. So we might even get Xbox live on PC, but who knows. Steam has a huge fan base. That's a lot of money.
  • Think about how much money Valve makes just by taking their 30% cut of game sales on Steam. In the long-run, a successful Windows 10 Store is far more valuable than the tiny short-term increase in revenue gained by releasing their games on their competitor's platform instead.
  • Microsoft doesn't shy away from spreading their games. They have a good amount of games on steam. I have AOE and Flight simulator from them.
  • Safe to say this version will not have crossplay with the Xbox version.
  • Im curious if this game is compatible with Xbox live users. I mean Minecraft cross compatible with everyone except Sony. Microsoft has a vision and it'll come to fruition in the future.
  • That's good news really(expands player pool). Maybe I'll get it on Steam as long as it's F2P. Just have all my games there. I played it over the weekend, but those guys there, they be good. 'Em combo breakers, man, I gotta tell ya, I can't get through those players, that's all they do. So, I depressed and stop playing. I feel I do so much better in Tekken, that's really my fighter there.
  • I wouldn't be surprise that Recore also comes to steam. Same thing with the next Ori, state of decay 2 and super Lucky's tale. 
  • And this is why I will never buy a game on the Windows Store... Bought one game, Quantum Break, horrible experience, came out on Steam months later, so angry about it, can you tell :) ?