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Skullgirls Encore To Replace Skullgirls When It Gets Delisted
Konami recently put in a request to have the fighting game Skullgirls delisted from Xbox Live and PlayStation Network after breaking ties with the game's co-publisher. The game will disappear for a short period of time, but in its place will be Skullgirls Encore.
Konami co-published the original game with Autumn Games. The two publisher's have since parted ways, and Konami put in a request to have the game delisted from the digital distribution services without developer Lab Zero Games' knowledge. This put the game's developer and now full publisher in a in a difficult position, as its game was about to disappear, but it still had rights to distribute it.
When we reported on the delisting last weekend, Lab Zero Games was scrambling to deliver a new version of the game in order to get it approved before those with the power to do so left their offices for holiday breaks. The bad news is, it looks like Lab Zero missed the deadline. The good news is that the wait to re-download Skullgirls is reasonable, and it comes with some new content. If you already own the game, you have nothing to worry about. It will remain playable on your hard drive – even online. The game will disappear from Xbox Live and PSN on December 31, but Lab Zero and Autumn Games expect it to reappear as Skullgirls Encore sometime in January.
When Encore becomes available, its distribution will be different depending on where you are and on what console you own the game. On Xbox 360, Encore will be a patch to the original game. The PSN version of the game will be entirely new, but it will be available to download for free if you own Skullgirls. Since it is technically a new game, it will have all new Trophies. New character Squigly, along with other DLC packs, will be free on both consoles for a period of time after Encore's release. You can learn more about the game's atypical distribution here.
[Source: Lab Zero]
Our Take
This whole Skullgirls situation is unprecedented and bizarre. It's still unclear why Konami requested the delisting, but it seems like Autumn Games and Lab Zero have landed on their feet, despite being handed a small crisis.
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