KiOS for Steam Please? 🍎

General Discussion
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Hey everyone!

I recently had this idea, but I didn’t want to throw it out there until the recent deluge of game bending bugs was sorted out in this week’s brilliantly crafted patch. Now that everything seems to be back in working order…

Killer Instinct released on Steam last September, but it’s only compatible with PCs running Windows. I think that it’d be nice to see the KI community grow that much more if our favorite fighting game was available for Mac OS via Steam too! :apple:

How could would it be to bring back the portmasters at Iron Galaxy or Code Mystics to ensure that the Steam version of Killer Instinct could run on iOS, allowing for Steam fighters to duke it out between Apple and Microsoft machines? :green_apple::computer:

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It’s not unheard of for Microsoft’s published games to be ported to iOS via Steam, including Mark of the Ninja, Dust: An Elysian Tale, and of course the titan that is Minecraft, and in this age where being able to play together between different platforms is celebrated, why not port Killer Instinct to work on iOS too? Remember just last week how big of a deal it was when it was revealed that Xbox One and Switch owners can play Fortnite together? (It’d be like that!)

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(This screenshot is a representation of all the Apple users pleading for a great fighting game to be released on their platform of choice!)

…of course, if we WERE to get Iron Galaxy back on board for the iOS port, how amazing would it be if they stuck around to craft a fighter #30? My heart’s still on that ENT Tree Monster that the KI Crew was thinking about what was shelved to create the Ultimates currently in the game, and not only would the call for a brand-new beastly fighter build up more hype for the introduction of the new wave of Apple-based players to our community, I’d be happier than Riptor in a petting zoo if we rounded out the cast with one more monster. (Maybe IG would be asked to do a few other little things to the game alongside the iOS update too? Who knows?) :palm_tree::thinking:

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I know it’s a slim chance, but it’s worth throwing out there- How difficult and time/resource-consuming would it be to ensure that Steam’s Killer Instinct would play on Macintosh so we can grow our community that much more? @KRAKENJIMMY @snickerdoodle @TempusChaoti

We’re all still cranking out Ultra-Combos, and we can’t help but to want more for this amazing game- Keep fighting on, everyone! :green_heart:

-Zenek

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So no one would want to expand Killer Instinct’s community to Apple players? That’s a little disappointing… :expressionless::green_apple:

-Zenek

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I would definitively love to see the game brought over to more platforms, but you’re asking too much at this point. The macOS port I can see, but I see some problems:

  • Converting from DirectX to openGL or Metal. How easy/hard to transition depends on the source code.

  • Hiring a team to work on the port. Code Mystics focuses on retro titles, and we don’t know if Iron Galaxy would be willing to come back. Microsoft can port it over themselves, or can hire a company like Feral or Aspyr to do the job.

  • Justifying the expenses to make a Mac port (is the potential Mac audience big enough?)

  • KI is several years old. It’s no longer a new game, and with all new games interest in it wanes over time.

I must repeat I want to see KI brought over to Mac and Linux, but at this point I rather Microsoft invest on making a sequel. Especially since you requested new fighters.

P.S. You initially said Mac OS but then switched to iOS for the rest of your post. Just wanna make sure you meant iOS or not, cuz that mean playing KI on your iPhone or iPad. iOS=mobile, macOS=desktop.

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Hi @coder1009! Thanks a ton for taking the time to share your thoughts in such a thoughtful reply- I was starting to get concerned that no one cared about trying to expand the community! As far as your well-worded points go,

The exact science of porting games between platforms is not my expertise, which is why I’d really like to hear what the KI Team would have to say about the idea and how relatively simple or complicated it would be to move Killer Instinct to MacOS. :green_apple:

I don’t think it would be a problem for Microsoft to pick out a quality team to port KI to Mac, but I wonder who they would select for the project if they didn’t do it themselves…?

The question about whether or not the gaming Mac community is there is a good one, and while I don’t know how many big games like Killer Instinct are available on the platform, I DO know that little over 12% of the global population of personal computers are Macs. I believe that porting a game will incredible netcode, visuals, controls, characters, etc., to Mac would be a wonderful way to “reach across the isle” so to speak, and to share something special that Mac players would expect to see only on PC or consoles. Who knows? KI on MacOS could lead to more major titles on the platform in the future!

Yeah KI is a few years old, but you can’t forget that the Steam version released only a year ago, and Overwatch (which I consider to be the KI of shooters), is also just over two years old, and they’re still gaining popularity. I had thought that KI was going to be one of those “Games as a Platform,” like Minecraft or Overwatch, where it would continue to grow. I’ll never forget those sweet little reminders that we used to get stating that “If you guys keep fighting, we’ll keep making new stuff!”, but it feels like things were pre-planned to wrap up after Eyedol. I wonder what’s up with that?

Heh, a fighter #30 is a pipedream to be sure, but that would be my best case scenario, in which @IronGalaxy came back to create a MacOS port, but it certainly seems like there is a skeleton crew of sorts working behind the scenes of Killer Instinct to ensure that we can still pull off ultra-combos and the like*. (Thanks, KI CREW! :heart_eyes:)

Oh, and seriously, thanks for clarifying the difference between iOS & MacOS for me! I am NOT an Apple user at all, but I believe that since KI is on Steam, that it’s a shame that it’s unavailable for Mac players at this time and it just feels like it’s the next natural place for our game to go. Even if MacOS is the correct term, I regret nothing for making the punny thread title! Nothing!!! :wink:

-Zenek

*I wonder if that match-busting bug that we saw in the Aganos vs Kim Wu fight near the end will be squashed soon-ish? That would’ve driven be BONKERS! :triumph:

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