The Game Census
Killer Instinct cover art

Killer Instinct

Iron Galaxy Studios · Xbox Game Studios · 2017-09-27

SteamMicrosoft Store

ActionFree To Play

Modes: Single player, Multiplayer

Releases: Mar 29, 2016 (Xbox One), Mar 29, 2016 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

The legendary fighting franchise is back with over-the-top action, a wild cast of combatants, rocking reactive music, and C-C-C-COMBO BREAKERS!!! Choose your ultimate combatants each with fluid animations, unique combat tactics, and enthralling special attacks.

44
playing now
87%
positive of 5.7k reviews
Very Positive
steam rating
200,000–500,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
71/100
critic score (8 outlets, IGDB)
82/100
IGDB user rating (45 ratings)
gold
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Free
steam price (US)

44 players in-game as of 2026-08-30 03:00 UTC (census sample)

Killer Instinct is a fighting game, the third in the Killer Instinct series, originally developed by Double Helix Games, followed by Iron Galaxy, under supervision of Ken Lobb and Rare, and published by Microsoft Studios, released as a free-to-play launch game for the Xbox One in 2013. The game is a reboot of the series, though some plot elements from Killer Instinct and Killer Instinct 2 have been retained. Development of the game involves individuals with histories in fighting games on both the developmental and competitive sides. It received positive reviews for its mechanics and engine, but was criticized for its initial lack of content. A second season of downloadable content was released between 2014 and 2015. A third season, along with a port of the game for Windows 10, was released in 2016.

Health check

Healthy
  • · 44 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 275 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~34/week).
  • · Review velocity down 14% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 15% of 10,862 Action games in the census by review count.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$0.00

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

All-time low: $9.99 at Steam (2018-06-22) · bundled 1×via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $0.00 · on sale 1 of 1 observed days · at its all-time low (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
14114120182026Week of 2018-01-01: 93 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 139 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 18 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 7 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 77 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 76 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 85 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 17 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 10 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 86 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 74 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 98 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 66 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 101 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 140 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 138 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 65 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 69 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 58 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 20 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 42 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 60 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 82 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 33 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 28 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 127 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 60 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 141 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 107 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 41 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 85 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 17 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 32 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 42 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 24 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 35 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 25 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 14 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 26 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 19 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 29 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 15 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 4 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

56142026-08-06 23:00 — 40 players2026-08-07 07:00 — 18 players2026-08-07 15:00 — 25 players2026-08-07 23:00 — 53 players2026-08-08 07:00 — 19 players2026-08-08 15:00 — 28 players2026-08-08 23:00 — 50 players2026-08-09 07:00 — 35 players2026-08-09 15:00 — 22 players2026-08-09 23:00 — 49 players2026-08-10 07:00 — 21 players2026-08-10 16:00 — 32 players2026-08-11 00:00 — 34 players2026-08-11 08:00 — 14 players2026-08-11 16:00 — 24 players2026-08-12 23:00 — 32 players2026-08-14 07:00 — 25 players2026-08-15 15:00 — 30 players2026-08-16 23:00 — 45 players2026-08-18 06:00 — 25 players2026-08-19 14:00 — 29 players2026-08-20 21:00 — 26 players2026-08-22 05:00 — 35 players2026-08-23 12:00 — 27 players2026-08-24 20:00 — 39 players2026-08-26 04:00 — 35 players2026-08-27 12:00 — 16 players2026-08-28 19:00 — 32 players2026-08-30 03:00 — 44 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).

Price history

$39.99$0.002017-09-272026-08-282017-09-27 — best price $29.992017-11-22 — best price $19.992017-12-21 — best price $19.992018-01-12 — best price $19.992018-02-15 — best price $19.992018-06-22 — best price $9.992018-11-21 — best price $9.992018-12-20 — best price $9.992019-02-04 — best price $9.992019-06-25 — best price $9.992019-11-26 — best price $9.992019-12-19 — best price $9.992020-01-23 — best price $9.992020-04-02 — best price $9.992020-06-25 — best price $9.992020-10-29 — best price $9.992020-11-12 — best price $9.992020-11-25 — best price $9.992020-12-22 — best price $9.992021-02-11 — best price $9.992021-04-08 — best price $9.992021-06-24 — best price $9.992021-11-24 — best price $9.992021-12-22 — best price $9.992022-01-27 — best price $9.992022-04-07 — best price $9.992022-06-09 — best price $9.992022-06-23 — best price $9.992022-08-22 — best price $9.992022-10-25 — best price $19.992022-11-22 — best price $19.992022-12-22 — best price $13.192023-01-17 — best price $9.992023-03-16 — best price $9.992023-04-20 — best price $9.992023-06-08 — best price $9.992023-06-29 — best price $13.192023-09-21 — best price $9.992023-11-21 — best price $13.192026-08-28 — best price $0.00
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Completion

60+
achievements tracked
27.7%
earned "Triple Trials!"
9%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerMulti-playerPvPOnline PvPShared/Split Screen PvPShared/Split ScreenSteam AchievementsFull controller supportIn-App PurchasesSteam Cloud1 DLC

7 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Portuguese - Brazil

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Xbox One, Windows (Xbox)108,1680%464
Steam (Steam)8,6370%463

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Player tags

PvP2.5DGoreActionArcadeFighting2D FighterControllerCompetitiveMultiplayer

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

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Similarity via IGDB.

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