Invincible VS headed by Killer Instinct producer, and Open Beta has started

Few games in the Fighting Game Community have the prestige of Killer Instinct and its reboot—despite relative niche status due to its unique hardcore mechanics, the series does have its devotees. Those devotees may be interested to know that a number of the Killer Instinct (2013) reboot developers have since made their way over to the Amazon-owned, Skybound Games-owned Quarter Up development studio, who are currently working on Invincible VS. If you're already interested in that game, its console-exclusive Open Beta has already started as of today—but more on that here.

In any case, the prestige behind the development of Invincible VS was not previously made apparent, so it's nice to see that some people with industry know-how and experience are behind this one. Alongside the game adopting a hybrid system of both simple inputs and traditional command inputs, as well as a proper 3v3 tag system complete with an Assist Combo Breaker mechanic. The combo breaking here isn't as in-depth as in Killer Instinct, where you need to press the button your attacker is pressing to break the combo, but a similar mindset is present where you aren't intended to simply lay there and take the hits until your turn arrives, a la Tekken 8.

As for how successful Invincible VS will ultimately prove to be, it's hard to say. Early impressions from the console-exclusive Open Beta running from April 9th-April 11th indicate that pro players are enjoying the game and its high combo expression potential. However, lots of casual players are being filtered and ragequitting mid-game.

Multi-game FGC pro SonicFox theorizes that this could be due to crossover with the heavy casual Mortal Kombat audience, which produces industry-leading sales numbers but is considered niche within the wider FGC. The similar level of brutality across both games and the previous Omni-Man crossover DLC for Mortal Kombat 1 may also factor into the shared audience considerations here. Even so, as a fan of both the genre and Invincible itself, I hope this game can find its audience and keep the Killer Instinct developers well-fed. I just find myself wishing that the game could afford the show's voice actors for all of its characters, and that Tech Jacket were already confirmed for the Season Pass. Come on, now!