The King of Fighters XIII
| The King of Fighters XIII | |
|---|---|
Arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) | SNK Playmore |
| Publisher(s) | Original Version
|
| Director(s) | Kei Yamamoto |
| Producer(s) | Masaaki Kukino |
| Designer(s) | Takamitsu Haze Takahiro Kobayashi |
| Series | The King of Fighters |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | July 14, 2010
|
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Taito Type X2 |
The King of Fighters XIII is a 2010 fighting game developed and published by SNK Playmore. It is the thirteenth installment in the The King of Fighters series. Released on Japanese arcades, it was ported to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 globally in 2011, and an updated version for arcades followed in 2012 subtitled Climax. The game is set after the events of The King of Fighters XI (2005) and is also the conclusion of Ash Crimson's story arc, which started in The King of Fighters 2003. It follows another King of Fighters tournament secretly hosted by Those From the Distance Land, the organization behind the events from the two prior games that are trying to break the seal of the demon Orochi and take its power.
The game was directed by Kei Yamamoto who wanted to bring elements from prior The King of Fighters titles and fix issues from the prior game. This title significantly modifies the gameplay from its predecessor, removing some modes, and adding ones formerly used in the series. It also expands the character roster, re-grouping the playable characters into three-member teams as in the prior installments. The ports are notable for including more content than the original version such as new characters, stages and game modes. Critical reception has been positive. Versions for iOS and Android had also been released, as well as a Windows port of Climax in 2013, and later a version with multiplayer rollback netcode subtitled Global Match in 2023 for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 and 2024 for Steam. KOF XIII was succeeded by The King of Fighters XIV (2016).