?KOF XV?
Play as all 54 characters in the game!
Enjoy the Cross-Platform OBT even without owning the game!

?Test Period
Thu, Apr 27th (8 PM PDT) – Sun, Apr 30th (7:59 AM PDT)

?Platforms
PS5/PS4/Xbox Series X|S/Win 10/Steam/Epic Gameshttps://t.co/4L5XOjC6d2#KOFXV #KOF15 pic.twitter.com/L809DprISe

— SNK GLOBAL (@SNKPofficial) April 21, 2023

SNK’s netcode has been improving through the years, from absolutely unplayable underwater-speed connections to having rollback and being able to play cross-continent smoothly, albeit with a few hiccups.  This all comes way too late, with SF6 and Tekken 8 on the horizon, but this experience will no doubt give the next Fatal Fury an instant boost, while KOF hardcore fans have had to endure clout-chasing videos mocking beta bugs and a frustrating lobby, and Samsho players are still waiting after 8 months for their game to be released with rollback.  Still, SNK could have simply abandoned the players that remain, it’s not like they would stop playing, at this point.  When it works, it works.  We can mutter and still manage.  So it’s great that SNK is investing precious development time into quality of life improvements for these (by current definitions) old games.

Fears

While there will be even more “omg” videos of KOFXV crossplay bugs, and it was shocking that the Samsho rollback beta was released in such a state, the attention should work in SNK’s favour, in the end. Although, arguably, some people will have a bad memory and need to be re-informed by newer videos, which of course your average influencer won’t make, because there’s nothing amazing about an online connection that is smooth, simply because that should be standard.

Industy followers know that this crossplay may have cost SNK quite a bit of cash, if the leaked documents from Epic were anything to go by: Sony and MS require compensation for ‘losing’ players to the other platforms. Perhaps, as KOFXV is now a year old, the price was reduced.  This is sensitive information that we won’t get to verify, so don’t bother asking, in my opinion.  All that remains is to play the game and hope it works.

Note that players will have to download a completely new and separate version of the game. It will have all dlc characters unlocked but no story mode.

Hopes

All we can do is hope that the room entry bug and the round one lag will be resolved and that somehow PC and even PS5 players don’t have to suffer an increased input lag to match the lower spec of the PS4.

It is certainly too much to hope for a new lobby, more like KOFXIV, but KOF98UM was a surprise, so who knows!

SNK should know very well by now to hide any assets of future DLC characters but eh…. keen eyes will be diving into the folders…

Even though it is likely that the player base has dwindled, as it does naturally, it is likely that a huge amount of players will return (it’s technically the full game for free).  They will get destroyed during the beta, complain, and they will not come back (until the next demo or something). There’s no need to beg them to play, just fight them, laugh at the salty direct messages, and have a good time that weekend!  As with every launch, don’t miss it!  Player count will peak!

SNK’s KOFXV crossplay open beta test will run Thursday April 27th 8PM PDT until Sunday 30th 7:59AM PDT

The downloads are not available as yet, check back for updates to this post.