King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match Final Edition will be available on Steam starting December 12, according to an official store page recently spotted on the online retailer.
Regularly hailed as one of the best titles in the classic fighting game series, King of Fighters ’98 was patched to Ultimate Match in 2008, an update that brought with it even more playable characters as well as a variety of balance adjustments. Final Edition would arrive in arcades a few years later, effectively porting the title to NESiCAxLive in order to take advantage of Taito’s extensive network.
This release will mark the first time this version has found its way to a home platform.
Development on King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match Final Edition’s Steam release was handled by a group known as Code Mystics, who have previously provided their services to rereleases of classic fighters like Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, Killer Instinct Classic, and Killer Instinct 2 Classic.
The title will come with all the bells and whistles you expect out of modern fighters, like local and online multiplayer, but will also include some extras such as the original NEO-GEO release.
SNK Playmore’s previous announcement pegged the Steam release for November; it’s currently unknown if this short delay will also affect the PC port of King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match, which was originally scheduled to arrive in December.
Pre-purchasing King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match Final Edition before its December 12 release date will grant buyers a 20% discount, marking the title down to $11.99 from the normal $14.99 price point.
Source: Steam, tip via Mr. Sandman