OFFICIAL FAQ: Annie 2nd Encore (+ New Character?!)

[MightyZug]

That’s right, the time is almost upon us -- Annie of the Stars is coming soon to 2nd Encore!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out her original mobile trailer and her latest teaser trailer that was just revealed at the Frosty Faustings Grand Finals:

I’m sure many of you have questions about Annie (as well as the little tease at the end). Let’s dig in!

WHEN CAN I GET ANNIE IN 2ND ENCORE?!! LET ME INNNN
Although we don’t have an official release date just yet, we promised “Early 2021” last year and rest assured we’re still on track to hit that vague-yet-specific-yet-vague window.

WILL SHE BE AVAILABLE ON ALL PLATFORMS RIGHT AWAY?
We will be releasing Annie DLC on Steam as an “Early Access” release before all other platforms continuing the “Endless Beta” tradition. After her early access launch, we plan to make numerous tuning updates based on player data and feedback in the weeks that follow. Once we feel she’s in a good state, release dates on other platforms will be announced soon after.

WILL THE UPDATE INCLUDE ANYTHING ELSE? (LIKE A BALANCE PATCH?)
In light of Annie’s inclusion in 2nd Encore, and even more Skullgirls content (see below) arriving in the future, we are planning on including bug fixes, quality of life changes, and balance adjustments along with this DLC release. We look forward to sharing more info about what’s changing (and who we’ve involved in the balance patch development process) in a future update! But rest assured, it’s in good hands.

OK COOL ANNIE GREAT... DID YOU JUST TEASE ANOTHER NEW CHARACTER?!!
Oh you saw.

YUP - another character is on their way! ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

WHO IS IT?! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T TELL ME YOU CAN’T SAY...
…we can’t say …yet?

There will be much more to be shared about this in the coming months. That said, thanks to the success of Annie on Skullgirls Mobile and all of the hype everyone has built up leading to her launch in 2nd Encore, we couldn’t wait to let everyone know that we had officially started development on a brand new character!

In the meantime, speculate wildly amongst yourselves! (you never know)

AH! BUT WHAT ABOUT <PRESSING QUESTION>?
If you have another question that we haven’t covered here, please respond to this thread and - if we’re able to answer it - we will update this FAQ to the best of our ability.

Here’s to even more exciting stuff for Skullgirls in 2021 and beyond!

<3
All of us at Hidden Variable and Autumn Games

 

[s4m43l]

will there be more story modes for Annie and the upcoming characters?

 

[Brawlitup99]

aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA SO HYPE!! THE TRAIN NEVER STOPPED

Just so we're clear, this does mean a story mode in 2E for Annie, right?

 

[Zer0]

Is Minette a viable candidate to be a playable character?

Also are we ever going to see a Palette editor?
(I would rip my hair out if we would get that!!!!!!)

 

[Laventale]

My body tells me Umbrella, my brain says Black Dhalia and my heart says Minette. Let's go.

 

[Lililira]

Heck yeah

I hope it's Ice Cream Truck

 

[whymebruhcmon]

This is amazing and i'm really hyped but i would like to know if there is any chance that this game gets crossplay between PS4, Switch and Steam? That would be amazing since the community seems to be split in different platforms with most dedicated players playing on PC
And does this mean that there could be more characters after Annie and the new teased character? (you guys probably can't answer this one, i'm excited)

 

[Izzmo]

Any Details on what is being looked an for the balance update? Also, anybody we know you can reveal is involved with gameplay or the next character?

 

[Whispy]

Well then. A new character already? That’s insane.

Now, I know it’s probably not gonna happen, but how cool would it be if one of the characters was introduced via an ARG?

I won’t really get into what an ARG is, but the usual problem with video game ARGs is that the files get torn apart and any puzzle is solved very quickly. The beauty of this idea though is that SGM doesn’t (as far as I know) really have any way of accessing the files, meaning that something of this caliber might be possible.

Just food for thought, though. My main idea is that very very subtle hints are placed in areas you wouldn’t expect, hidden codes, etc. Again, probably not gonna happen, but it’d be super cool to see the community come together to solve something like that.

 

[DillyD]

Will the new character be released in mobile before 2nd encore?

 

[You cant beat D]

We've all said it, but let's say it again

The launch party, NEVER ENDS!

 

[7layerburrito]

Will we like vote or like what’s sry I’m soo exited the train never stopped this is amazing will there be NEW COLORS?

 

[ThexDaftxPunk]

Does this mean the Xbox ONE will FINALLY get a version of the game that's on par with literally every other platform? Been waiting years

 

[Laventale]

Will the new character be released in mobile before 2nd encore?

Given Annie was released in Mobile first, it's quite likely.

 

[stale cheeto]

That new SG2E gameplay footage looks sick, I can't wait to try her out. Thanks for keeping Skullgirls alive, guys.

​

 

[stale cheeto]

Also are we ever going to see a Palette editor?
(I would rip my hair out if we would get that!!!!!!)

I doubt it... People did pay for their ugly custom palettes to be made through Indiegogo, after all so that would sort of defeat the purpose of that.

 

[BallotBoxer]

In the meantime, speculate wildly amongst yourselves! (you never know)

Skeleton = Skullgirl minion = non-boss version of Skullgirl Marie is the next character!
There's your ARG, Whispy!
Seriously though, a breadcrumb trail of clues would be very entertaining and great for hype-building while waiting for Umbrella/Black Dahlia/Minette!

 

[Renan Flippy]

Like all previous DLC characters, Annie will be free during first days of release or direct buy for get her?

PD: Please Umbrella

 

[CQC]

Where can I throw money at you guys to help make sure this legendary game keeps growing?

p.s. Black Dahlia please

 

[TheKillerStove]

Like all previous DLC characters, Annie will be free during first days of release or direct buy for get her?

PD: Please Umbrella

Probably not, since the previous DLC was crowdfunded. With the money to make them coming from the community, it made sense to give active community members the characters for free. Annie and any characters moving forward are funded by Autumn out of pocket, so there's no reason to expect they'll be free.

As for the character news I'm hype as hell. Having the announcement at Frosty Faustings grand finals was an excellent choice. I know it's kind of dumb, but little things like that make me feel like SG isn't just an afterthought to Autumn. Here's hoping Venus makes it in someday, even if she isn't likely anytime soon with choices like Umbrella, Marie, and Black Dhalia being the clear favorites.