The King of Fighters XV
SNK · 2022 · Fighting
Did the studio keep supporting this game after launch? This page is the evidence.SNK gave KOF XV the online foundation the series had always lacked, delivered two full DLC seasons plus free bosses and cross-play, and was still balancing all 61 fighters in July 2026.
01Score breakdown
Five categories, 20 points each, 100 total. Full method on the methodology page.
02The evidence
KOF XV launched on February 17, 2022 with GGPO rollback netcode at launch, 39 fighters, and praise for its roster and online play, offset by a thin story mode, limited offline content and complex tutorials. Season 1 added 12 fighters in four teams across 2022 plus free boss Omega Rugal, and Season 2 added six fighters across 2023 plus free boss Goenitz. Full cross-play arrived on June 20, 2023 in version 1.92 after an open beta, fixing the small platform pools that had hurt the Xbox version in particular. Support continued with the new Advance Strike mechanic on January 30, 2024, then closed its DLC run on December 12, 2024 with Mature and Vice, a full roster rebalance and an Ultimate Edition taking the roster to 61. Patch cadence slowed in 2025 as SNK focused on Fatal Fury, but official circuit support continued through the SNK World Championship 2025 finals, and a full roster balance update followed on July 2, 2026, so the record reads as a long, steady tail rather than abandonment.
- Launched February 17, 2022 with GGPO rollback netcode, the first mainline KOF launch with rollback, and 39 fighters
- Delivered all promised DLC: 12 Season 1 fighters in four teams in 2022, six Season 2 fighters in 2023, free bosses Omega Rugal and Goenitz, then Mature and Vice on December 12, 2024 for a 61 fighter roster
- Added full cross-play on June 20, 2023 in version 1.92 after an open beta, addressing small per platform player pools
- Kept adding and refining systems after year one, including the Advance Strike mechanic on January 30, 2024 and full roster rebalances in December 2024 and on July 2, 2026
- Sustained official circuit support through SNK World Championship 2025, where the KOF XV champion won $500,000, with a SWC 2026 season announced in the same release
- Weak spots: launch story and offline content were thin, cross-play took 16 months to arrive, and patch cadence slowed sharply in 2025
03Sources
04Audit record
- Launch date
- Feb 17, 2022
- Evidence coverage through
- Nov 4, 2026
- Methodology
- v1.0
- Audit confidence
- Medium
- Why this confidence
- Official SNK releases, patch notes and the Steam listing cover patches, DLC, cross-play and circuit support well, but community sentiment and the full patch archive were not audited in depth, so this is not High confidence.
- Score band
- Strong (Tier B)