DigitalNoob

Could we be getting a revival of Rare’s legendary, combo-packed fighting game franchise?

Doubtful.

Still, PlayXBLA has announced (and confirmed, in a roundabout way) that Microsoft has renewed the license on Killer Instinct. The franchise, consisting of Killer Instinct, Killer Instinct 2, and Killer Instinct: Gold (spread out over arcades, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, and Nintendo 64), thrived on Nintendo consoles, back when Nintendo and Rare were buddy-buddy.

When Microsoft bought Rare, things took a downturn, and many of their titles failed to reach the critical and commercial success as they once did. With the fighting game field already crowded, Killer Instinct has stayed off the radar. Rare reportedly had wanted to make Killer Instinct 3, but Microsoft has other plans.

Still, we could always see a release of the original arcade titles on XBox Live Arcade, given that PlayXBLA reported it…