It’s that time again (better late than never) - our preview of what to expect from Skullgirls Mobile in 2020!
2019 RECAP
As a quick reminder of all of the fun stuff we accomplished over the course of the past year:
- BEEP. BOOP. MEOW. Robo Launched along with new Modifiers Power Surge, Inverse Polarity, and Barrier (and the scourge of all PF modifiers along with it), with Blessing and Thorns soon to follow!
- We made big revisions to Rift Battles, changing energy and node scoring - and then did it again by adding Catalysts to the mix.
- We added MASTER Story Mode, Filia’s Origin Story (#smug) and the tragic tale of the fall of the Contiellos (poor Squig).
- By popular demand, we added XP Boosts to help players level up their Fighters, and removed the XP cap for replaying Story Mode levels.
- We added a slew of new Diamond Fighters for Halloween - and offered a guaranteed new Diamond Fighter to our most dedicated Trick or Treaters.
- We spruced up our Login Calender, dramatically increasing the value of all of the rewards.
- Cripple Resist BEGONE! Modifier-specific sub-stats we removed and replaced with a bunch of new fancy sub-stats, along with a slew of Moves getting a fresh coat of paint.
- Of course the BIG one was our Sync PvP VERSUS mode featuring GGPO! Whether you prefer FREE FOR ALL or COMPETITIVE mode, we at long last delivered our most requested feature.
- Lastly, we added Friends Lists and Social Gifts (including the elusive Inner Pieces) - just the start of more exciting social features to come.
For a trip down memory lane, I recommend browsing through
our Update Notes to see how far we’ve come. Now, on to 2020!
DISCLAIMERS
Just like our
2019 and
2018 Preview post, the features below are going to be discussed in very broad terms. This is intentional. While we have clear goals - the route we take to achieve them often changes once we sink our teeth into the task at hand (and a little air of mystery is nice from time to time).
As such, what we describe below may not 100% match exactly what makes it into the game - it should at least give you an idea of where our priorities lie in the not too distant future.
2020 ROADMAP
So, without further ado - let’s dive in!
FUKUA!
Fukua is coming to Skullgirls Mobile in 4.2 - you heard it here first! Orbs and clones for DAYS.
BRAND NEW CHARACTER
That’s right, we’re working on a BRAND NEW SKULLGIRLS CHARACTER with Lab Zero that has never been released to date! For more info on this mysterious new addition, check out our
FAQ posted earlier this week.
Is this merely the first of many new characters? We certainly hope so! Much will depend on how well this new character performs when they are released later this year. Fingers crossed!
MAJOR RIFT BATTLE IMPROVEMENTS
Rift Battles were designed to be an essential part of the mid-late game experience for many players, with each player creating uniquely tricky challenges for other players to overcome.
Although we’ve made a slew of improvements and updates to Rift Battles over the course of 2019, they’ve all been incremental to try to nudge things bit by bit in an attempt to address known concerns without fully overhauling the system.
In light of some of the prevailing issues and frustrations you’ve shared (we’ve heard them loud and clear), we are going to be making a more dramatic set of revisions to Rift Battles. We’ll provide a separate post that goes into all of these improvements in more detail, but rest assured that they will address the common concerns that have been raised about the mode (including matchmaking, the time commitment/urgency required to tackle each Rift once it opens, etc).
More info on this to come in a dedicated post in the upcoming weeks.
SOCIAL FEATURES
I know what you’re thinking… HEY, THIS WAS ON THE LIST FOR 2019! Well, with the Friends List and Gifting System now in place (and with Sync PvP behind us), this is going to be one of our main areas of focus going into 2020.
As you might expect, this means some form of Guilds (have you heard? They’re COMING SOON) and the collaborative and competitive modes you would expect. This also includes improvements to ways in which players can engage with one another inside the app (beyond just general chat)...
ENDGAME CONTENT
A number of our late game players have heroically conquered many of the endgame challenges we set before them. Although many still seek top tier Rift Battle status and have yet to clear all of the new Story Mode Match Challenges, we have plans to provide new, interesting, and rewarding “Everests” to sate their appetites. This ranges from recurring events like Accursed Experiments, or new dastardly challenging modes that test their skills and collection in unique and exciting ways.
As we’ve mentioned before, our content design goal is built around rewarding players who have deep, diverse collections - so make sure you have an assortment of heavy hitters ready to go!
STORY MODE / ORIGIN STORIES
This has been one of the topics we’ve wrestled with the most. We LOVE creating new Story Mode content (and we know you all love it as well). However, despite how much we enjoy revealing new nuggets of Skullgirls lore, unfortunately the content itself gets consumed EXTREMELY quickly despite requiring months of time and effort to properly develop. Generally speaking, we feel this time would be better spent creating self replenishing content and features that can benefit all players over a much longer period of time.
As such, while we still have every intention of completing Origin Stories for every character and expanding the core storyline, I wouldn’t expect the first of these to drop until much later in the year after we’ve sorted out some of the more critical priorities outlined above.
BUILDING ON VERSUS MODE
As noted prior, we are extremely proud of what we have accomplished thus far with VERSUS mode, but we know there are ways it can be made even better (improved performance, handling rage quitters, etc).
When we implement those refinements, we will also be looking into adding real substantive rewards for engaging with VERSUS mode that go well beyond a Daily Mission. Stay tuned!
LIVE EVENTS
Last year you could find us at ComboBreaker, EVO, AnimeExpo, Frosty Faustings, CEOTaku and more!
We hope to continue to grow our presence at live events over the course of the year - perhaps hosting some events here in LA, and even empowering our superfans around the world to host local events that can provide real, in-game prizes!
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
We haven’t even touched on Deployments (allowing Fighters to gather resources and XP while you’re away), improved cheater prevention, global Achievements packed with juicy rewards and much much more.
This only scratches the surface of some of the things we have in store for the rest of the year. As always, we are 100% committed to continuing to grow the Skullgirls Mobile experience in new and exciting ways to ensure that there is always a wide array of interesting, varied, fun, and challenging content for you all to enjoy throughout the year.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
All that said, the scope of what we can do depends on how successfully the game performs. Obviously IAPs are a HUGE help (thank you!), but the next best thing you can do is help more players discover Skullgirls mobile (to this day there are Skullgirls fans who have no idea that a mobile game exists!).
As such, PLEASE share the love for Skullgirls and help us grow! Some ideas include:
- Giving us 5-stars on the App Store or Google Play Store and writing us a positive review
- Sharing the game with friends and/or streaming gameplay on Twitch or YouTube. You never know when we might retweet and share your Skullgirls Mobile videos on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!, too!
- Reaching out to your favorite influencers and asking them to give Skullgirls mobile a shot!
Lastly, if there’s anything in particular you are hoping to see in 2020 (either as a part of the items mentioned above or as something new entirely), don’t be shy about sharing them below - we’re always listening!
Thanks once again for all of your support!
<3 MightyZug (Charley) and all of us at Hidden Variable:
AlmightyBones
Cellsai
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