Skullgirls

Skullgirls is a tag team-based fighting game in which players control characters, each with unique attacks and fighting styles, to engage in combat. Players must damage the opponent and completely drain their health, thus knocking them out. A player wins when all opposing characters are knocked out. If time expires before then, the player with the most remaining health is declared the winner. Players may select a single fighter or choose to form a team of two or three. A solo character possesses more health and deals more damage. Players can assign custom assists in Skullgirls, further enhancing team customization. The gameplay for Skullgirls was modeled after Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, incorporating the latter's tag team mechanics, assists, and control scheme. These basic attacks can be chained together to form simple combos. Using a combination of button presses and directional inputs, players can also perform "special attacks", which are slightly stronger than normal moves, and "blockbusters", which are cinematic super moves that deal heavy damage and can hit multiple times. Blockbusters require players to build and expend meter, known in-game as "dramatic tension". As the fight progresses, the players' dramatic tension gauge will fill. Infinite combos occur when a player is able to create a repeating, inescapable loop of attacks as an exploit. The story mode features small, non-canonical vignettes for each playable character, detailing "what if" scenarios playing out across alternate timelines. A canonical story mode has been teased, however, with the developers citing the inclusion of downloadable content (DLC) characters from the first season pass as necessary to tell their "true" story. The arcade mode lets players fight against waves of AI-controlled opponents before reaching the final boss character, Marie. The training room was later updated in Skullgirls Encore to include online functionality, allowing players to practice with friends instead. Online multiplayer features ranked and unranked matches using the GGPO networking library, providing a smoother online experience. When enabled, teams automatically generate dramatic tension and all basic attacks deal negligible damage. ==Setting==

Skullgirls takes place in the fictional Canopy Kingdom, a country reminiscent of 1940s post-war United States, which is ruled by the Renoir royal family and plagued by the Medici mafia. The kingdom is populated by humans, anthropomorphic animals, giants, and other species. Magical items, creatures, and entities exist that grant their users and hosts various superhuman abilities, such as "Parasites" and "Living Weapons". A large part of the kingdom follows the religion of the Trinity, a trio of extraterrestrial goddesses consisting of Venus, Aeon, and their mysterious Mother. Numerous individuals and organizations seek to obtain the Skull Heart, a sentient artifact with reality-warping powers created by the Trinity. If the woman's wish is impure, she is transformed into an undead monster known as the Skullgirl. Big Band, Eliza, Beowulf, and Robo-Fortune. In 2014, a clone of Filia, named Fukua, was added in a free update. Fukua reuses assets from Filia and was designed as a nod to palette-swapped characters in fighting games. Umbrella, Black Dahlia, and Marie. ==Development==

-organizer Seth Killian in 2011 Skullgirls was originally conceived as several stray character designs that illustrator Alex "o_8" Ahad had been creating since high school. While attending college, Ahad had the hypothetical idea to use the character concepts for a fighting game roster. The idea would later become a reality when Ahad was introduced to fighting game enthusiast and tournament-goer Mike "Mike Z" Zaimont, who had been working on a fighting game engine during his own spare time. Engine development and pre-production began in 2009. Ahad drew the art style and character designs based on a wide variety of his influences and inspirations, such as the works of Mike Mignola and Bruce Timm, Gainax's FLCL, Tex Avery's Red Hot Riding Hood, Capcom's Darkstalkers, and artists George Kamitani and Daisuke Ishiwatari. Ahad and Zaimont pitched Skullgirls to several companies, eventually teaming up with recently founded independent developer Reverge Labs in 2010. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, Japanese developer and publisher Konami announced that they would help distribute the game. Following the game's release, the Skullgirls team began teasing future content for the game, including new voice packs, color palettes, and downloadable characters. However, shortly thereafter, Autumn Games was hit with a series of lawsuits regarding Def Jam Rapstar, which "gummed up everything related to Autumn's funding." The entire Skullgirls development team was laid off by Reverge Labs in June 2012 after Autumn Games and Reverge Labs allowed their contract to expire without agreeing upon a new one. This prompted the team to reform under a new moniker, Lab Zero Games, to continue work on the PC release and downloadable content. Autumn Games, revealed to be in full possession of the IP, claimed it was "fully behind the new studio" and promised to "continue to work with [Lab Zero Games] in the future on all Skullgirls-related endeavors." The Skullgirls community raised over , placing second to eventual winner Super Smash Bros. Melee, which raised over $94,000. Although the game did not win, Shoryuken announced that EVO 2013 event organizers would support the Skullgirls side tournament by providing prize money and exhibition support due to their effort in the fundraiser. Crowdfunding and publisher transition Despite Autumn Games' support and desire to expand Skullgirls, their continued litigation prevented the publisher from providing any financial backing. Contributors received various rewards, including desktop wallpapers, a digital copy of the official soundtrack, and the chance to add a background character to the game, among others. The campaign reached its initial goal in less than 24 hours, while the stretch goal of a second DLC character, Big Band, secured funding in just over 2 weeks. An additional stretch goal that would provide a free license for the game's engine, Z-Engine, to the developers of ''Them's Fightin' Herds (at the time called Fighting is Magic) was also funded. Following the dissolution of the partnership, Konami requested the removal of Skullgirls from the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade by the end of 2013. In response, Lab Zero Games announced in December 2013 that Skullgirls would be re-released on consoles as Skullgirls Encore, a new build including up-to-date changes and additions, in January 2014. Encore marked the transition of the console versions to its new publishers, Marvelous and CyberFront, and coincided with the console release of Squigly. While Encore'' was released as a title update for the Xbox 360 version, the PlayStation 3 version required owners to re-download the game at no cost; leaderboard rankings, save data, and trophies were not carried over. Two individuals claimed that Zaimont had made inappropriate sexual comments towards them, which triggered an internal investigation of Zaimont's behavior within Lab Zero Games. In the statement, both parties expressed intent to work with the employees who resigned from Lab Zero Games on the continued development of Skullgirls. Cartwright raised money for the staff, who had been fired without severance, by selling her sketchbooks. Several former Lab Zero Games members, including Cartwright and Kim, then went on to establish a new cooperatively-structured independent game studio called Future Club. In February 2021, Autumn Games revealed the development of the Season 1 Pass, which included four DLC characters, a digital artbook, and an updated soundtrack. Legal In April 2021, lead animator Mariel Cartwright and CEO Francesca Esquenazi sued Lab Zero for Mike Zaimont's wrongful termination. In May 2021, Lab Zero countersued, stating that Cartwright and Esquenzai were out to intentionally destroy Lab Zero and Zaimont's image, causing the company to break up so they could start a competing business and poach Lab Zero employees. The countersuit also claims that Cartwright and Esquenzai were the ones who talked about sex and related topics with Zaimont, and then publicly mischaracterized it as harassment. Cartwright and Esquenzai motioned to dismiss the countersuit, but the Los Angeles Superior Court Judge denied the motion in May 2022, and allowed the countersuit to proceed. In January 2025, Hidden Variable ended their partnership with Autumn Games and filed a lawsuit against them alleging unpaid fees of roughly $1.2 million for work done on Skullgirls Mobile since November 2024. Autumn Games responded by claiming they have "taken over" development of the game and will continue to support it with new features, such as Guilds. ==Soundtrack==

The Skullgirls Original Soundtrack consists of 28 original compositions. The album features music by Michiru Yamane, Vincent Diamante, Blaine McGurty, and Brenton Kossak. Yamane's involvement was announced by Reverge Labs in April 2011, marking the first time a Japanese composer had anchored the soundtrack for an American-developed game. The soundtrack was released on April 21, 2012, on iTunes. ==Release==

Skullgirls was released on the PlayStation Network in North America on April 10, 2012, and worldwide through the Xbox Live Arcade on April 11, 2012. Europe and Australia later received the PlayStation Network version on May 2, 2012. The game was also published in Japan by CyberFront and brought to Japanese arcades through the NESiCAxLive digital distribution system by developer M2. Skullgirls Encore launched on the PlayStation Network in North America on February 11, 2014, and Europe on March 19, 2014. The Xbox Live Arcade version of Skullgirls received an update for Encore on April 22, 2014. On July 10, 2014, Lab Zero Games announced that Skullgirls Encore would be released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita sometime in 2014. This port, later titled Skullgirls 2nd Encore, would eventually be delayed until 2015. 2nd Encore was released for PlayStation 4 in North America on July 7, 2015, and Europe on July 23, 2015. The PlayStation Vita version was released in North America on April 5, 2016, and Europe on April 14, 2016. 2nd Encore was also published for both platforms in Japan by Arc System Works on April 14, 2016. In North America, Hidden Variable Studios and Limited Run Games produced a limited physical edition of 2nd Encore, which included a disc-based copy of the game, a slip cover, a full-color instruction manual, and a special selection soundtrack. In May 2013, when Lab Zero Games was asked on their official Twitter account about a potential release for Nintendo's Wii U console, the developer replied that while it was possible, it "[wasn't] looking likely", citing the console's low sales and not having an established "digital presence" at the time. During Anime Expo in July 2018, Lab Zero Games confirmed that a port of 2nd Encore was in development for its successor, the Nintendo Switch. The Nintendo Switch release would include all content, and be available both physically and digitally. In February 2019, an Xbox One port was announced, which was planned for release alongside the Nintendo Switch version, courtesy of Skybound Games. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch on October 22, 2019; however, the Xbox One version was postponed indefinitely "due to unforeseen development and production challenges". In May 2022, the Xbox One port was revealed to be in development again, along with versions for the Xbox Series X and Series S. The ports had a targeted release window of 2022, but were eventually pushed back to 2023. Skullgirls Mobile The free-to-play spin-off for Android and iOS, titled Skullgirls Mobile, was released on May 25, 2017, in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. It was developed by Hidden Variable Studios and published by Line Corporation, creators of the Line communications app. Eventually, Line Corporation decided to part ways with the project, with Autumn Games taking over publishing duties. As such, the old version of the game, preemptively renamed LINE Skullgirls, was removed from all storefronts on January 15, 2018. ==Adaptations==

Webcomics At the 2019 Anime Expo, a webcomic series published by Webtoon was announced. The webcomic, written by Mike Exner III and illustrated by Wiirdo/Pasteldot and Artist Black/Suzi Blake, began publishing weekly on November 19, 2022. and finished February 2, 2024 with 26 episodes divided into 1 season. ==Reception==

Critical response Skullgirls received "generally positive" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. Dan Ryckert of Game Informer stated that while Skullgirls was beautifully animated, some animations were "juvenile and unnecessary". The game was nominated for 2012 Best Animated Video Game at the 40th Annual Annie Awards. Skullgirls was also recognized in the 2013 ''Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition for the most frames of animation per character, reaching 11,515 total frames for its initial eight characters and averaging 1,439 frames per fighter. In 2017, Skullgirls 2nd Encore was listed in Game Informer'''s list of "The 10 Most Underrated Games Of This Generation". Sales Skullgirls sold over 50,000 copies across both platforms within ten days, becoming the highest selling game on the Xbox Live Arcade upon its release and third best-selling title on PlayStation Network for April 2012. The game saw a similar performance in Japan, climbing to the top of PSN's list of best-selling downloadable PlayStation 3 titles within a week. According to Peter Bartholow, CEO of Lab Zero Games, Skullgirls met Japanese publisher CyberFront's lifetime sales expectations in the first two weeks of release. The PS4 version entered the Japanese charts at #17. On September 4, 2017, Zaimont announced that Skullgirls had sold one million copies on Steam. Legacy In 2020, after the Evolution Championship Series announced its shift to an online-only format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Skullgirls 2nd Encore was revealed as an inclusion in its main lineup of games, owing to its use of rollback netcode. The entire event was eventually cancelled after EVO CEO Joey Cuellar was placed on administrative leave following sexual misconduct allegations. Skullgirls ultimately made its debut as a main lineup game at EVO 2022, over a decade after its original release. In June 2023, the game was review bombed on Steam after a patch was released which focused on altering elements deemed insensitive or exploitative by Hidden Variable Studios, Future Club, and Autumn Games, with negative fan reviews proclaiming the alterations as a form of censorship. These changes included, among other things, the removal of allusions to real world hate groups and upskirt shots of teenage fighters, toning down depictions of racial violence in the story, and deleting several illustrations from the guest art gallery. According to game director Charley Price, the updates were made to reflect the "values and broad vision for Skullgirls moving forward." ==References==