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Microsoft's rebooted rendition of the acclaimed fighting game series Killer Instinct is by no means a mainstream behemoth. Yet, it continues to be doted upon, even almost a decade later, by the FGC (fighting game community). Unfortunately, it has lately been the target of a joy kill hacker who has taken down the online modes for the game on Xbox and Microsoft Store.
Since its launch, the game has seen immense love from fans, with a dedicated playerbase especially present on Xbox. With the game's ranked mode officially hacked, players' enjoyment has been halted.
When can the servers for Killer Instinct be expected to go back up?
At this point, it is unclear when the servers will go back online. The game's last major support was back in 2018 - a whole four years ago. With the game no longer under developer Iron Galaxy's jurisdiction, it is up to publisher Microsoft now.
But it is uncertain whether a relatively niche game is worth allocating resources to at this point from the publisher's business perspective. Considering the tech giant has been very forward and consumer-friendly regarding its gaming division, there is still a shred of hope.
However, it still brings to mind the situation with Titanfall 2, the 2016 sci-fi FPS from publisher EA and developer Respawn Studios. The game's online kept getting DDoSed by hackers, rendering the official multiplayer a barren wasteland as players could not connect to play.
The situation has improved but still took longer than it should have. Players, in the meantime, resorted to using Northstar, a third-party client, for online matchmaking.
Note that Killer Instinct's blight does not affect the Steam version of the game, as it has its separate leaderboards. But as a whole, this incident is still disheartening. Fans have taken to Twitter to complain about this, using the hashtag #SaveKI. Here's hoping it does not suffer like Titanfall 2 did over the past few years.
Is Killer Instinct worth checking out today?
Absolutely. This 2013 entry was originally developed by Double Helix Games, with further work taken over by Iron Galaxy. It reimagines the Super NES classic into a modern, fast-paced fighter. The game might boast a fairly small roster, but it is an exhilarating experience that is in many ways different from other games in the genre.
Killer Instinct has a relatively high learning curve. Still, the varied characters (including Battletoad's Rash and Halo's Arbiter) and the killer soundtrack from Mick Gordon (of DOOM 2016 fame) make it worth a pickup - even more so if you are a fan of the genre.
Killer Instinct is available on Xbox One and PC.
