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‘Skullgirls’ relaunches on mobile as developer ditches publisher
Stylized fighting game Skullgirls came out for mobile in May of last year. It was developed by Autumn Games and initially published by Line. Now, the developer has decided to part ways with the publisher and go back to being independent. As a result of this transition, the developer launched a new version (basically Skullgirls 2.0) and shut down the old one (now called LINE Skullgirls) on the App Store and Google Play.
'Skullgirls' heads to iOS and Android this spring
Popular fighting game Skullgirls has been released on almost every other modern platform; now it's time to play it on your smartphone. Originally teased last July, the free-to-play version of this fan-favorite title is slated to arrive in Spring 2017 for both iOS and Android devices.
'Skullgirls' is coming to mobile with a role-playing twist
Lab Zero's hyper-stylized fighting game Skullgirls has been available on almost every modern platform at some point in its history, but you couldn't play it on your smartphone... until now. Hidden Variable (best known for producing versions of Threes) has revealed that it's developing a Skullgirls game for Android and iOS that shakes up its formula. Rather than making a straightforward brawler, the studio is adding role-playing elements -- you collect, equip and upgrade characters as they progress through the story. There's even a Fight Assist option that lets you focus more on the bigger picture and less on the moment-to-moment action.
'Skullgirls' on PS4 gives you the chance to brawl with your PS3 friends
If you were quick to buy a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you've probably had that horrible moment when you realized that your friends with last-generation systems couldn't join you in online games. You won't have to leave them behind when Skullgirls arrives, however. The fighting game's senior animator, Jonathan Kim, has confirmed that the PS4 version will let you take on PS3 opponents. The notion of a cross-platform strategy isn't completely new, since titles like Guilty Gear Xrd Sign do it. Still, it's helping to establish a welcome trend -- you may not always have to abandon your favorite players to get a new console, or feel pressured to upgrade just to keep up with the Joneses.
PS4, Vita versions of Skullgirls delayed to 2015
The PlayStation 4 and PS Vita versions of indie 2D fighter Skullgirls have been delayed to 2015, developer Lab Zero Games announced this week. Lab Zero's Peter Bartholow notes that the delay comes as a result of the ports' newly expanded scope, which will introduce several new features not found in the game's initial PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC releases. "Unfortunately, these awesome new additions have necessitated a delay until early 2015, but I'm confident that everyone will find the additions worthwhile," Bartholow said. The announcement follows up on this week's launch of Eliza, a new character funded by Lab Zero's successful Indiegogo campaign. Eliza is currently available as a free download for all Skullgirls players, and will be released as paid DLC starting next year. [Image: Lab Zero Games]
Skullgirls animator taking pre-orders on limited sketchbook
Mariel Cartwright, lead animator for Lab Zero Games' hand-drawn fighter Skullgirls, is taking pre-orders (link possibly NSFW) from anyone who would like to place her sketchbook among their library. Previously available to fans who made the journey to Anime Expo, the sketchbook will only be available for pre-order online until July 31. If you don't put your name on the list before then, you'll have to voyage to Anime Expo 2015 to get your mitts on it. The book features 80 pages of black-and-white sketches of Cartwright's art, and will cost $20. If you're hard up for cash, you can always appreciate her work on Tumblr (some art NSFW). [Image: Mariel Cartwright]
Put your hands together for Skullgirls Encore on PS4, Vita
Lab Zero revealed Skullgirls Encore is set to make another encore, this time on PS4 and PS Vita. The reborn edition of the 2D fighter is due to arrive later this year, with all Indiegogo-funded DLC characters, stages and story content included. Additionally, the Vita version works on PlayStation TV with local multiplayer support for two DualShock 3/4 controllers. Lab Zero said it'll have more info on features and pricing info closer to launch - that includes if the PlayStation ports have cross-buy and/or cross-save support. In the interim, players on the game's current platforms can look forward to receiving the third free DLC character, Eliza, later this summer. For an early look at the imperious Egyptian, check out Lab Zero's work-in-progress video below the break.
Skullgirls player accidentally admits piracy to creators
Well, this is embarrassing. Twitter user "Dan Hibiki" recently asked Lab Zero Games about a curious message they received while playing the PC version of all-female 2D fighter Skullgirls ... only to be informed by its creators that the text only appears for people who pirated the game. Whoops. Both sides took the situation in stride, however. Hibiki (whose haplessness is totally in-character) claimed to already own the PS3 version of the game, vowing to buy the PC edition after evaluating it. Lab Zero, meanwhile, responded in good humor and even answered a series of questions after the call-out. The back-and-forth is indicative of Lab Zero's involvement with its own community; the developer earned over $800,000 from devoted fans last year for a crowdfunded content update. It also serves as a valuable lesson – if you pirate someone's game, maybe don't ask customer support questions in a public forum. [Image: Lab Zero Games]
Skullgirls Encore takes a bow on PlayStation Plus this week
Skullgirls Encore is this week's featured addition to the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection, giving subscribers free access to the PlayStation 3 version of Lab Zero Games' recently upgraded 2D fighter. Skullgirls has seen a number of gameplay tweaks and improvements since its launch in 2012, and the recently issued Encore edition features a roster of 13 playable characters. Developer Lab Zero continues to update the game with new content, following up a successful crowdfunding campaign with the addition of Big Band as a playable character. PlayStation Plus subscribers also have access to discounted in-game currency and add-on content for Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, Dust 514, Blacklight Retribution, Warframe, and other featured free-to-play games throughout the week. [Image: Lab Zero Games]
Big Band, Skullgirls' first male character, joins the fight next week
Though Skullgirls Encore has always been defined by its distaff roster of pugilists, the 2D fighter is about to get a shot of gender equality in the form of Big Band. As his name makes plainly clear, Big Band is an oversized character who relies on musical instruments to beat down his opponents. Developer Lab Zero Games describes Big Band as a "high risk, high reward" character capable of dealing out massive damage, just as long as his attacks don't miss. Alternately, if you prefer a defensive playstyle, Big Band is the first Skullgirls character with the ability to parry incoming attacks. Most notably, Big Band's Blockbuster attack allows players to perform wildly damaging custom trumpet solos, such as the surprisingly well-orchestrated tune in the above video. As Big Band's development was funded by the massively successful Skullgirls Kickstarter, the character will debut at the attractive price of "totally free." Simply download the addition once it appears on your platform of choice and Big Band's musical fisticuffs are yours to command. [Image: Lab Zero Games]
Indie fighter Skullsgirls Encore re-debuts on PSN come February 11
Having finally sorted its issues with original Skullgirls publisher Konami, developer Lab Zero Games has revealed the date the game will return to the PlayStation Network: February 11. Instead of simply re-releasing the fighter, Lab Zero is offering players an upgraded version of the game dubbed Skullgirls Encore. While very similar to its predecessor, Skullgirls Encore technically qualifies as an entirely new game. As a result, none of the DLC released to date for the original Skullgirls will be compatible with Encore, according to Lab Zero Games. To offset this inconvenience, Skullgirls Encore brings a host of gameplay tweaks as well as a new character, a meek opera singer named Squigly who attacks foes via an erudite, dragon-like parasite. Further, Lab Zero is offering Skullgirls Encore at no charge to those who previously purchased the original incarnation of Skullgirls on PSN. So far there is no word on when Skullgirls Encore will see an Xbox Live Marketplace release, but Lab Zero has issued two trailers for the fighter. You'll find a launch trailer above, while below the break lies footage focused on newcomer Squigly. [Image: Lab Zero Games]
Skullgirls Encore to include 'The Typing of the Skullgirls Encore'
Skullgirls Encore, the re-release of Skullgirls to address the parting of ways between Lab Zero Games and Konami, will include a new mode called "The Typing of the Skullgirls Encore." While demonstrating it on EightySix's Twitch account, Skullgirls Design Director Mike Zaimont explained that the mode is planned for Xbox 360, PS3 and the PC release of Skullgirls Encore. In "Typing of the Skullgirls," each player's gauge for super moves fills automatically. Once a player uses a super, a timed typing exercise appears, which awards damage based on a player's typing accuracy and swiftness. Zaimont explained that perfectly typed words do 1.5x damage, "right but not perfect" phrases award standard damage, and totally botched attempts cut dealt damage to 10 percent. The totals are reversed when an AI opponent uses a super move on a player, meaning that players are spared damage according to their ability to type phrases associated with incoming attacks. "Typing of the Skullgirls" will be available in Story, Arcade and Versus modes, but not in Tournament or Online modes.
Japanese Walking Dead, Witcher publisher Cyber Front dissolves
Cyber Front, the Japanese publisher of Telltale's The Walking Dead, Valve's Portal series and CD Projekt's The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has been dissolved by parent company Kaga Electronics. According to a Gamasutra translation of a statement posted by the company on its website, Cyber Front was subject to a change in management in March of this year. Since that time, the company struggled to rebuild, and on December 19, the decision was made to close shop. Cyber Front recently also published Lab Zero's Skullgirls, which has had a string of bad luck lately, though it will be re-emerging on XBLA and the PSN in January as Skullgirls Encore.
Skullgirls to be reborn in January as Skullgirls Encore
Following a licensing battle with publisher Konami, Skullgirls will be delisted from both the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network Store on December 31. That's the bad news. The good news? Skullgirls Encore makes its debut in January. Instead of forcing players to buy the game yet again, the console versions of Skullgirls Encore will be available for free to anyone who currently owns Skullgirls. The Steam version of the game is unaffected by Konami's IP wrangling, and will remain largely unaffected. The biggest (and arguably only) addition to Skullgirls Encore is the DLC "Squigly" character. As a mea culpa to the community for having to put up with all of this hassle, Squigly will be available as a free addition to the game for a period of three months, regardless of which console you're using to play the fighter. Unfortunately, the DLC character color packs so far released for Skullgirls are not compatible with the new version, but developer Lab Zero Games doesn't want to have to charge people twice for simple palette swaps and is instead rolling each character's color scheme options into one big polychromatic DLC offering which is also going to be available to players totally gratis. Full details on the change can be found on Lab Zero's website, just don't go in hoping for reams of Steam changes. The lack of Konami involvement in that version of the game means it's merely receiving a new Skullgirls Encore title screen.
Konami requests Skullgirls takedown from XBLA, PSN
Following Skullgirls publisher Autumn Games' announced plans to knock out their business deal with Konami, Konami has requested the removal of Skullgirls from the PlayStation Network by December 17 and from Xbox Live Arcade by December 31. After likening the move to Final Fantasy 6's Magic Master casting Ultima before he dies, Skullgirls Design Director Mike Zaimont announced the impending delisting on the Skullgirls Weekly Stream channel. During the broadcast, Zaimont explained that Konami submitted the request to Sony without telling Autumn Games, leaving Sony to deliver the bad news. Zaimont explained that if the team finishes the new, self-published build of Skullgirls before Sony's QA team goes home for the winter break, Squigly and the improvements from the PC update's beta will be available "pretty immediately soon." If the deadline is not made, then Skullgirls will be removed from every regional PSN store other than Japan's, since that version was not published by Konami. Zaimont's requests to push back Konami's delisting date for the PSN until December 31 have been unsuccessful. Zaimont also explained that the new Xbox Live version of Skullgirls will be published by Marvelous AQL. However, since ownership of the property won't transfer from Konami to Marvelous until December 31, the same day as Konami's delisting deadline, Zaimont doesn't "know if Marvelous can submit a build before that or not, but I'm making one on the off chance that they'll be able to." If the new submissions to PSN and XBLA don't make it through each store's respective certification process before the winter break, Skullgirls may disappear from digial storefronts until the QA teams return and clear the builds. Zaimont also noted that it was unclear whether those who have purchased the Konami-published version of Skullgirls will be able to play online after that version is delisted. On a positive note, Zaimont said that that the PC beta for the new update is "going well" and the involved changes will be put into the retail version "right after [the North Eastern Championships]."
Antichamber 66% off on Steam today, Skullgirls free this weekend
Steam rolled out a new batch of limited-time PC game deals, dropping the price of the Escher-inspired first-person adventure game Antichamber by 66 percent as Lab Zero Games' 2D fighter Skullgirls gears up for a free weekend. Steam's Weekend Deal additionally drops the price of Overkill Software's multiplayer heist sim Payday 2 by 40 percent, to mark the release of its new Armored Transport DLC. Kerbal Space Program rounds out this weekend's deal selection with a 40 percent discount. Skullgirls is also available at a discounted rate over the course of its free weekend, ending Monday at 10 a.m. Pacific time.
Skullgirls patches held up by 'deep business dealings'
Skullgirls publishing partners Autumn Games and Konami have ended their business relationship, but we can't confirm that the two don't go off for a cuddle every so often. Skullgirls patches for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have apparently been held up due to some behind-the-scenes complications between the two companies, but that will no longer be a problem. "Things have not always been hunky-dory between Autumn Games and Konami. Around the time of the last update, it became clear that it would not be possible to proceed with the new patches as long as Konami was involved with Skullgirls," wrote Peter Bartholow of Skullgirls developer Lab Zero Games in a company update. "So, as of today, Autumn and Konami have terminated their business relationship, allowing us to move forward with the PS3 and Xbox 360 patch in a more timely and cost-effective manner." Bartholow notes the testing of the patches is "nearly complete," but now the team has to go through the digital paperwork shuffle of moving the game over to a new publisher. Autumn Games will be the game's PSN publisher, but because "Microsoft doesn't support purely digital publishers," Autumn is partnering with MarvelousAQL for Xbox Live, otherwise "Microsoft would simply delist the game from the Marketplace." "We apologize that these deep business dealings have come between you and the first character your collective efforts have funded, but we're confident that subsequent patches will go more smoothly with this all of this behind us," Bartholow concluded.
PSA: Skullgirls pre-orders open on Steam, include color palette options
Skullgirls is now available for pre-order on Steam for $14.99. Pre-orders for the fighting game grant players access to the beta, slated to launch on August 22. By pre-ordering the game on Steam, players will also receive the game's color palette DLC, which offers more colorful costume options for Skullgirls' fighters. The flashy fighting game first launched in April 2012 on XBLA and PSN.
Skullgirls PC debut scheduled for August 22
The Marvelous AQL-published PC port of Skullgirls will be available through Steam on August 22, with pre-orders starting on August 1. The announcement was made on-stream earlier today between matches of Super Street Fighter 4 at EVO 2013 in Las Vegas. If you can't wait that long, $36 will still buy entrance into the game's ongoing closed beta, which also grants access to the finished product when it's released at the end of August. The PC version of the game is said to include improved multiplayer functionality and will eventually be the home of Skullgirls' four new DLC characters.
Skullgirls PC beta available now for Indiegogo backers, slowpokes with $36
If some of your skrilla is mixed in with the $828,768 Lab Zero Games raised during its Indiegogo campaign to expand Skullgirls, good news: A Steam beta access key is waiting for you on your Humble Bundle page, provided you dropped $36 or more when contributing to the fundraiser. Meanwhile, people who didn't/couldn't contribute to the Indiegogo campaign can still buy into the beta (and future full PC release) by dropping 36 dolla-dolla bills into the official website, which offers some of the same reward tiers as the original fundraiser. Lab Zero points out in its Twitter feed that the game's lobby system won't be implemented until "next week or so." Bugs encountered during play should be sent to bugreport at labzerogames dot com.
