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Microsoft Renews Killer Instinct Trademark

In what could be a great sign for all Killer Instinct fans yearning for more from the long stagnant cult-hit fighting franchise, playXBLA has revealed that the trademark for Killer Instinct has been renewed. No solid news has been heard of Killer Instinct since the days of the Nintendo 64, on which the last entrant in the series, Killer Instinct Gold, was released.

PlayXBLA is organized and run by Microsoft Studios, and is a hub for official Xbox Live Arcade news. An official quote given by Microsoft on the Killer Instinct trademark reads; “We have either renewed or refiled a trademark application in various jurisdictions.” Though the K.I’s rights were originally held by game developer Rare, Rare was bought out by Microsoft in 2002. And given the fact that Nintendo – Rare‘s previous part-owners – did not create Killer Instinct themselves, Rare would have retained its trademarks going into the buy-out from Microsoft.

This development does not necessarily signal a sequel…it could very well be Microsoft protecting its brand. However, considering that playXBLA are the ones who broke the news, chances are that we will be seeing Killer Instinct on the Xbox Live Arcade, most likely as a remake or re-release of either of the two main titles (or maybe both). It’s better than having no Killer Instinct at all, and could potentially build to a long-awaited sequel if any uninitiated Xbox 360 owners play it and become new fans, creating an extended fan-base clamoring even louder than ever before. It would be hard to ignore.

Anyone a Killer Instinct fan? Would you buy a K.I. or K.I.2 remake/re-release? If so, I’m not even going to ask if you want a sequel…that’s obvious.

Zac Elawar
Zac Elawar
I am a graduate of the Bachelor of Interactive Entertainment (w/ major in Games Design) course at Qantm College, Sydney.