Author: Ian "iantothemax" Walker

Mortal Kombat X is set to be bolstered by a variety of downloadable content after its launch next month, and today we’ve been provided a pretty clear look at the release schedule courtesy of EB Games Australia.

According to a promotional email received by Test Your Might community member n-megabytes, the upcoming NetherRealm Studios title will see its playable cast expanded soon after it appears on store shelves, with Friday the 13th antagonist Jason Voorhees arriving twelve days later on April 26. Tremor, Predator, and Tanya will follow in that order every two weeks alongside the bonus skins included in each bundle.

One of the greatest boons of this schedule, apart from how quickly players will get to throw down as these characters, is that the full cast should be playable by Evo 2015 in July.

Keep in mind that, because these are Australian dates, it’s likely this content will show up in other regions either before or after the folks down under get their hands on it, so stay tuned for more refined worldwide scheduling.

Mortal Kombat X is scheduled to land on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 14. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports will come later this summer.

Source: Test Your Might

After a week of holding our breath, Level|Up Series has announced that the possible delay to this year’s SoCal Regionals is now an unfortunate reality.

Due to construction issues, the event’s original venue is no longer able to accommodate them for the original May 1-3 dates. The hunt for a new location, however, has not resulted in any replacements, so the organizers are currently looking to the next month to hold their tournament.

As of now, they currently have an appointment to secure a venue for June 5-7, but nothing definite can be nailed down at this point in time.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as soon as more SoCal Regionals 2015 details become available.

Source: Level|Up Series

With Mortal Kombat X already set to make waves in the fighting game community by way of major tournament showings at Evo 2015, Community Effort Orlando 2015, and Combo Breaker, it appears as if the greater world of competitive gaming also wants to get in on the action.

Earlier this morning, Electronic Sports League (otherwise known as ESL) announced a rather involved tour centered on the upcoming NetherRealm Studios title, made up of a preseason, pro league, and more. Competition will be stretch over numerous regions, allowing players from North America, Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States to earn their keep through a variety of online cups and qualify for larger events.

This will all culminate in a global finals, bringing together sixteen of the strongest competitors (decided during the preceding tournaments) to compete for a prize pool of at least $50,000.

While PlayStation 4 has been thought of as the console of choice, ESL’s events will play out on Xbox One and PC.

But that’s not all. To give folks a look at how Mortal Kombat X plays at a high-level before the pro league kicks off, ESL will be inviting eight players to compete in a special exhibition. So far, two-time Evo champion Carl “Perfect Legend” White, Ryan “Prodigal Son” Hart, Ryan “Ketchup” Neal, EJ “HB|Tyrant” Williamson, Christian “KiT|Forever King” Quiles, and Malik “MIT” Terry have been announced as participants.

For more details, be sure to give ESL’s official announcement a read. There’s a lot to look forward to here!

Sources: ESL via UltraDavid, Ryan Hart, Ketchup, Tyrant, Forever King, MIT

Earlier tonight, Bandai Namco Games held a special event focused entirely on their latest fighter, Tekken 7. According to the developers, the arcade title’s cast will soon be expanded by a trio of characters: two returning fighters, Jin Kazama and Devil Jin, and a newcomer named Josie Rizal.

These characters were first revealed last week when their models were discovered in the game’s data. Jin Kazama is already present as a hidden sub-boss.

Josie is of Filipino descent, marking yet another first for the long-running franchise. Mad Catz community manager Mark “MarkMan” Julio apparently contributed his personal knowledge to her creation. In fact, her name is a homage to Dr. Jose Rizal, a legendary figure in the Philippines who is widely regarded as one of the country’s leading historical heroes.

Brief demonstrations of these characters in action can be found below. Jin will join the game on March 31, with Devil Jin following on April 7. A date has yet to be set for Josie’s launch, but she should be available in the near future.

Sources: Tekken Channel, Flying Wonkey, Mark Julio, Avoiding the Puddle, tip via Kevin V.

After giving the community a little over a month to come a decision, the Evolution organizers have decided to allow custom moves during this year’s Super Smash Bros. for Wii U competition, though there are still a few stipulations.

As you’ll see in the document embedded below, players will be restricted to playing with specific loadouts, which were decided with help from Smashers to determine their legality in a tournament setting. While every setup may not be available, this should give entrants plenty of time to test the limits of what’s being allowed and work out strategies in preparation for the event this summer.

Other rules set in stone at this time include a two-stock, six-minute time limit for every match, a complete list of tournament stages, the banning of Amiibos, and more. For the full set of specifications this and other games, be sure to visit Evo’s official listing.

Evo 2015 is scheduled for July 17-19 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Source: Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar

This weekend, a number of high-level Ultra Street Fighter IV competitors will be making the trip to Paris, France to take part in Red Bull Kumite. The event, organized by the energy drink company of the same name, has invited players from all over the world to attend.

Apart from the fourteen participants listed above, two additional players decided by a last-chance qualifier will be thrown into the mix. Some of the competitors scheduled to take part include CG.RZR|Problem X, EsseX the Sinner, BX3|Veggey, Andreas, RB|Kayane, CDV|Will2Pac, CDV|Cuongster, LLL|Emersion, and many more.

While the invitational is obviously the main event, Red Bull Kumite will also include two special exhibitions to break up the action. First, Capcom’s classic Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike will enter the spotlight as a team of French competitors take on another group led by legends Nuki and Kokujin. Then, later on, six of the best qualifier participants will be matched up against six Kumite entrants in a special Ultra Street Fighter IV concept match.

Those who aren’t able to attend this event in person will be able to view it all live by way of the official website or Capcom Fighters. The full schedule has been included below along with adjusted times for other parts of the world.

Event	CET (Local)	PDT	EDT	GMT
Open Tournament	10:00 AM	2:00 AM	5:00 AM	9:00 AM
Top 16	3:00 PM	7:00 AM	10:00 AM	2:00 PM
SFIII Exhibition	6:00 PM	10:00 AM	1:00 PM	5:00 PM
Top 8	6:30 PM	10:30 AM	1:30 PM	5:30 PM
Concept Match	8:30 PM	12:30 PM	3:30 PM	7:30 PM
Top 4	9:30 PM	1:30 PM	4:30 PM	8:30 PM

With such an incredible group of players gathered together in one place, it’s hard to pinpoint who has the best chances of winning. Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below.

If you happen to own the Ultra Edition of Killer Instinct’s second season, you should be happy to know that you have yet another cast member to play around with today. Hisako, the spooky ghost girl that’s been shown off quite a bit over the past month, is now available as part of the playable cast.

But that’s not all. Similar to past character releases, Iron Galaxy Studios has also whipped up a good deal of balance changes to keep their project competitive, the full list of which you’ll find here. These adjustments should be available to players who haven’t yet purchased the Ultra Edition, and owners of the Combo Breaker pack can upgrade to immediately gain access to Hisako.

Finally, this update also brings with it Riptor’s retro skin, as well as brand new accessories to further customize the ferocious dinosaur.

To get you in the mood while you wait for the patch to download and install, check out Mick Gordon’s full composition of Hisako’s theme below.

Sources: Dave McCrate, Mick Gordon, tip via rick