Killer Instinct Season 3 won’t be the first time a Halo character will be making the jump into fighting games, but that doesn’t mean we expected the Arbiter to join the roster when the game first launched. The team behind the Arbiter’s inclusion recently got a chance to talk about bringing the character over to KI on the official Halo Waypoint blog.
When asked about who possible guest characters could be back in 2013, Creative Director at Microsoft Studios Adam Isgreen’s first response was the Arbiter. However, he didn’t think they would actually get a chance to bring him over for any number of reasons. The Killer Instinct roster isn’t exactly free of unearthly critters, but mixing the two franchises at that point was understandably unexpected.
Those concerned with how the Halo and Killer Instinct universes line up to allow such a merger can take heart in the fact that the Arbiter shown here isn’t exactly the same Arbiter from the Halo series, though he is, obviously, heavily inspired by those before him. Just like what they did with Nicole-458, the Spartan from Dead Or Alive 4, this helps create a “canonical buffer” between both universes.
To keep his playstyle close to the original Halo games, the Arbiter comes with all sorts of Covenant weaponry, including the Type-51 Carbine, plasma grenades, and his trademark energy sword. Additionally, his combo trait, which has him tack on plasma grenades or carbine shots to any ender, sword strike or throw, is called “Combat Evolved” as a shout out to the original Halo.
Of course, this is just part of what they discuss. To see the post in full, head on over to the Halo Waypoint blog where you’ll learn more details about things such as the Arbiter’s stage, as well as his many alternate costumes.
Be sure to tune in to Twitch tomorrow at 4 CST for a closer look at the Arbiter.
Source: Halo Waypoint, tip via Ricky