After turning The Walking Dead into a multimedia empire, Robert Kirkman has been hard at work doing the same for Invincible. First there were, of course, the comics. Then the awesome Prime Video animated show. There have long been talks of a potential live-action movie. And, next year, the franchise’s first full-fledged video game is coming, called Invincible Vs. And while little is known about the game, set for release in 2026, Kirkman spoke to press about it at San Diego Comic-Con.
What we previously learned is that Invincible Vs. is a three-on-three fighting game from Skybound Games and Quarter Up. A partial roster was announced in June, and at Comic-Con, that roster expanded with the reveal of Battle Beast, who also recently made his debut on season three of the TV show. But what exactly is this game? And why a fighting game? Kirkman let us know.
“I love fighting games,” he said to a group of press, including io9. “I was at the arcade playing the first Mortal Kombat. I was at the arcade playing Street Fighter 2. In the 90s, [I was] getting the Super Nintendo or the Genesis, where you actually got the Mortal Kombat with blood. I played Primal Rage. I played Time Killers. Like I was there at the birth of fighting games… And I think that they’re a really great showcase for a large number of characters. When you have an open-world game, you’re kind of playing as that one character, and you may encounter the other characters, but you don’t get to play as them. So I think, as far as showcasing the Invincible universe and showcasing all of the different characters that encompass it, fighting games are ideal for that… As our first marquee, big-in-scale game. I think that a fighting game made the most sense. I think it is going to be the most satisfying for fans.”
To be fair though, Kirkman also said he would’ve loved to make a Mario-style platform game, or even an open-world game. But one big thing became an issue. “Open world games are expensive,” he said. “Has anyone heard the budget for Grand Theft Auto 6? It’s like three Trey Parker and Matt Stone deals.” (Note: Trey Parker and Matt Stone just signed a new deal for $1.5 billion).
So, that’s why it’s a fighting game. But it will have a story too, and while Kirkman couldn’t say too much about that, he did offer a pretty interesting tease.
“There’s certainly a narrative component to the video game that is an additive experience that may or may not be connected to the larger world at play,” he said. “So I would say stay tuned. But we always try to make sure that everything we do has a narrative function. And because of the multiversal aspect of Invincible, there is a really cool way to connect things in a way that sometimes you can’t really do. So yeah, there’s a tremendous opportunity to do some cool stuff, and we’ll see.”
He later, almost inadvertently, added this pseudo-clarifier to that tease. “The game will get to stand on its own, and it’ll be its own, unique corner of the Invincible universe,” Kirkman said.
But also, there was a lot he couldn’t say. He wouldn’t say if Invincible Vs. would have cameos from other games, just as Invincible characters have cameoed in other fighting games. He wouldn’t say if it would have any DLC or season components like some other fighting games. But he is definitely excited and proud about how the fighting game can do something that’s so very invincible.
“One of the coolest things about Invincible Vs. is that you get to have these very different characters that, a lot of times, don’t even interact in the comics or in the show,” he said. “You haven’t really seen Atom Eve and Battle Beast interact in any kind of way, but you will get to see that in this game. And so, because of that, I think this game offers a unique experience for Invincible fans that will make it that much cooler of an experience if you’re familiar with the world and familiar with the history of these characters… There are some really unexpected combinations.
Invincible Vs. will be released for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
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