SNK has announced that The King Of Fighters XV Season 2 will kick off in January 2023 with a new playable character, Shingo Yabuki. It has also been confirmed that the second DLC character for KOF XV, Kim Kapwhan, will arrive in spring 2023. Season 2 update introduces balance changes, additional DLC characters, and a crossplay test for players on different platforms.
Shingo Yabuki is the first Season 2 fighter joining the ever-growing roster of playable characters in The King Of Fighters XV in early 2023. SNK also confirmed Season 2 will see new DLC characters arriving in the game at varying times. Shingo Yabuki will release with balance changes for existing fighters to improve player experience. Kim Kapwhan, on the other hand, will be added to the game in spring 2023, with an open beta test for crossplay across PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S-X, and PC launching at the same time. Players on different platforms will be able to duke it out with each other in the arena.
Although SNK released a post-launch teaser for the Season 2 update, Shingo Yabuki and Kim Kapwhan have yet to appear in any gameplay videos. The King Of Fighters XV is a 3v3, traditional fighting game with over 38 playable characters, released in February 2022. The latest entry in the series introduces a new combat mechanism, Shatter Strike, allowing players to apply additional follow-ups and combos. Depending on the opponents, it can also be used as an effective defensive tool. Basically, using a Shatter Strike during combat consumes one bar of the power gauge. However, the gauge can be replenished by landing a Shatter Strike successfully, making this mechanism sustainable.
KOF XV also features a Max Mode that works similarly to the Hyperdrive mode from KOF XIII. According to the developer team, Max Mode in KOF XV is improved with new tweaks, allowing players to pull off special moves by the end of the meter gauge. Lastly, KOF XV includes updated auto-combo mechanics that enable players to create electrifying combos with moves like a light punch or hard kick.
Season 2 of The King Of Fighters XV will begin in January 2023 with the release of Shingo Yabuki, who made his debut in the series back in 1997. Kim Kapwhan will also arrive in the game with an open crossplay test by the summer of 2023. KOF XV is now available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.