Lab Zero Games has cleared up questions regarding the future of Skullgirls on PSN and XBLA in a blog post. To put it simply, they are going ahead with the switch to new publishers and releasing a new game: Skullgirls Encore.
Because of this switch, they will have to remove the game temporarily from PSN and XBLA, effective December 31st. They will then be releasing Skullgirls Encore to each platform in different forms. Lab Zero expects to finish the transition in January 2014. On the side, Steam players have the best lot, since they were never affected by the issue, and they already have the updated game.
PSN users who bought Skullgirls will get Skullgirls Encore free, simply by going to the Skullgirls Encore store page to download it. Since it is a different game, previous buyers will also get to retain the ability to download the original Skullgirls off their games list. New character Squigly will be free for three months, usable only on Skullgirls Encore.
Consequently, Skullgirls Encore will be phasing out individual character color packs for a single character color bundle, which will be updated in the future for free. Of course, this makes previous DLC incompatible with Encore, so character color DLC packs will also be available for free for a limited time.
Now, US and European players are expected to get the game first. They are working with Japanese publisher Cyberfront to minimize the wait on their end, but XBLA is a different matter.
Simply put, Lab Zero made Skullgirls Encore a patch for the original in XBLA. MarvelousAQL will not be able to submit the patched build to Xbox for approval until after the holidays. Lab Zero will be as transparent about the process as possible, and in the meantime, the game will be playable online to previous owners.
Because of the differences in their approach, leaderboards, achievements and save data will be retained in the XBLA version, but will be separate for Skullgirls and Skullgirls Encore in PSN, which will keep the original as a separate game.
What about Konami? In a word, they agreed to delay the removal of the game to the end of this year, which is good on them, and great for everyone involved in Skullgirls in whatever capacity. Look forward to Skullgirls Encore on consoles next year.
