Killer Instinct is about to unlock all of its fighters and premium DLC for free forever if you already own it

Would you believe the reboot of classic fighting game Killer Instinct is now a decade old? Well, it is! To mark the occasion, developers Iron Galaxy are taking it free-to-play – but not before they give existing PC players the game’s entire roster and premium DLC for free.

A new Killer Instinct: Anniversary Edition will join a free-to-play version of the fighter’s base game, allowing players to brawl in its single-player, local and ranked modes as a free character, with the unlocked fighter rotating each week.

The Anniversary Edition, meanwhile, will serve up all 29 fighters and every bit of premium content released over the last decade, along with a VIP Double XP booster and some extra cosmetics, such as holiday accessories. That’ll cost you $30 when it drops. (It won’t include the Definitive Edition app, including the Killer Cuts soundtrack, but you’ll still be able to download those separately.)

Before then, though, Iron Galaxy has announced that existing versions of Killer Instinct will be upgraded to the Anniversary Edition for free. This includes the game’s current Windows 10 and Steam releases, which will get all those characters and unlocks for free – plus Gargos’ Golden God and Argent Shroud colours on Steam for the first time.

Today marks 10 YEARS since Killer Instinct 2013’s release! A huge thanks to all our players – your support has made it possible for us to keep KI going. pic.twitter.com/LaS7nnDwqI

— Killer Instinct (@KillerInstinct) November 22, 2023

In a nice bit of timing, the Steam version of Killer Instinct is currently on sale for 67% off – bringing it down from £30 to under a tenner in the UK – so it works out as a decent saving to pick it up now and then nab the free kitchen-sink upgrade when everything flicks over.

The Anniversary Edition is yet to have a release date announced while Iron Galaxy are in “final testing” for the update, with the major upgrade also bringing various changes and fixes in patch 3.10 – its first patch in over five years – including dozens of individual character tweaks and a fix to a universal bug that occasionally stopped projectiles from dealing double damage for being a first hit.