Skullgirls stories
Former Skullgirls and Lab Zero developers create new studio Future Club
Following the complete evaporation of what was left of Lab Zero Games earlier this month, almost all of the studio's former staff have come back together to form a new yet familiar adventure.
Future Club is the new development studio made up of 15 senior and other previous Lab Zero members as announced by the team themselves.
Safe for work Mai, not as safe for work Mai, Wii-Fit Mai, Hsien-Ko Jam, and other fighting game beauties feature in this wonderful gallery from Phamoz
Along with the likes of Cammy, Morrigan, and Chun-Li, King of Fighters' Mai Shiranui is one of the most commonly drawn fighting game characters in the business. Zoma Phamoz takes a few creative passes at the fan-wielding fighter in some of their recent illustrations, and we thought they were more than good enough to share.
Though she's the most prevalent, Mai by far isn't the only character represented in our roundup as figures from Guilty Gear, Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and even Skullgirls strut their stuff as well.
Skullgirls developer Lab Zero Games lays off entire staff
Following months of turmoil in the public spotlight and behind closed doors, it appears as though Lab Zero Games as we once knew it is essentially no more.
Studio lead and owner Mike "Mike Z" Zaimont laid off the entirety of Lab Zero's staff after several senior members quit and the Skullgirls publisher pulled all duties away from the company last week.
Biggest changes we'd like to see in Street Fighter 5's upcoming patch, turbulence at Lab Zero, and how to maintain control in intense situations
There's been quite a bit of turbulence at Lab Zero, creators of Skullgirls and Indivisible, in recent months and it all seems to be coming to a head as multiple employees have left and posted statements alleging that owner Mike "MikeZ" Zaimont has consistently engaged in unprofessional conduct in the workplace.
Catalyst and I recount the particulars of these accusations and offer some commentary on the matter before transitioning to speculation about Street Fighter 5's upcoming December balance patch.
Autumn Games and Hidden Variable taking over development of Skullgirls following resignation of several senior Lab Zero staff members
Following the resignation of multiple senior staff members at Lab Zero Games due to lead programmer and owner Mike Zaimont's alleged inappropriate work behavior and other issues, it appears as though the developers will no longer be in charge of the fighting game they once resurrected.
Autumn Games and Skullgirls Mobile developer Hidden Variable released a joint statement revealing Lab Zero Games will no longer be working on Skullgirls 2nd Encore nor any other future developments for the series.
Multiple Lab Zero staff members resign after fall out with Mike Z
Several employees from video game development company Lab Zero (creators of Skullgirls and Indivisible) have announced their resignations alleging routine unprofessional behavior from owner, Mike "Mike Z" Zaimont as motivation.
Former Lead Animator and Art Director, Mariel Cartwright, posted a resignation statement to Twitter today following similar posts from art producer, Brian Jun, and Senior Animator, Jonathan Kim. These statements include allegations of Zaimont exhibiting routine displays of disrespect and sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as reference internal disputes regarding the company's direction.
Annie of the Stars revealed for Skullgirls Mobile and 2nd Encore; new stage incoming as well
A brand new cast member is heading to Skullgirls as Annie of the Stars has been revealed. This newcomer is first en route to the game's mobile version sometime later this year, but will also eventually make her way into Skullgirls: 2nd Encore in early 2021.
Not only will the Skullgirls roster be soon expanding, but players will also gain access to an all new arena in which to do battle as Annie will be bringing with her "Sound Stage 15." Read on for more details.
EVO Online 2020 entrant numbers and a 'REALLY AWESOME next-level prize' from PlayStation and other prizes revealed
MrWiz, a tournament organizer for EVO Online 2020, has revealed the entrant numbers for the upcoming online event. Notably, there will three separate tournaments based on what region players are competing in.
Skullgirls ended up with the highest number of players overall as there are 1,249 registered to compete in North America. Notably, Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath, and Them's Fightin' Herds also managed to exceed 1,000 entrants each in just the North American region.
Mike Z banned from Combo Breaker 2021 following Skullgirls community request
Mike "Mike Z" Zaimont, one of the individuals behind the creation of the Skullgirls series, has been banned from Combo Breaker 2021. This has come as a result of the Skullgirls community's recommendation that Zaimont be banned from commentary and competition at Skullgirls events.
"Our goal is to create a gaming space that is welcoming for all participants, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, age, disabilities, or other protected statuses," said the issued statement. "Due to this, we believe Mike Zaimont, also known as ‘Mike Z,’ should no longer be welcome on commentary or participating in events in the Skullgirls community."
Steam Summer Sale brings in the best fighting game discounts including Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition for the first time and all EVO Online games
Fighting game players finding a home on the PC platform have grown exponentially over the past decade or so, and now they're in for a big seasonal treat for the next few weeks.
Steam is now running its annual Summer Sale starting today which includes some of the best deals for fighting games that we've seen in quite some time including the first notable discounts for Street Fighter 5: Champion Editon, all EVO Online titles and dozens more of the big names.
EVO Online update: Skullgirls now to be played on PC, 'something' being worked on for Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament of champions
It was on Wednesday that we got our first information drop concerning EVO Online registration and game platforms, but there's been a change to one of the four titles featured in the event's open tournaments.
EVO organizer Mr. Wizard announced Thursday via Twitter that Skullgirls will now be played on Steam PC instead of on PlayStation 4. A question concerning the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 tournament of champions popped up in the ensuing thread, Wizard's answer to which has piqued some interest.
Skullgirls' new character colors feature references to a ton of franchises including Guilty Gear, Overwatch, Killer Instinct, and even McDonald's
Skullgirls originally released over eight years ago at this point, but the game has seen quite the boost in recent months thanks to its excellent online play and some brand new updates from the developers.
The latest substantial patch came earlier this past week which added a new stage and over 40 character color selections that of course feature a ton of references to other video games and pop culture franchises.
Skullgirls adds 40 new character colors, a new stage and a metric ton of bug fixes to honor Combo Breaker
Combo Breaker has served as essentially the premier tournament for Skullgirls since its release over a decade ago, and even though the event is cancelled for the 2020 season, there's a lot of community push right now to pay tribute to one of the best majors in the world.
Lab Zero Games has released a new and quite substantial patch for Skullgirls on PC they've titled the Combo Breaker 2020 Update which brings in over three dozen new character color options to the game, a few new animations, a new stage and a ton of adjustments / bug fixes.
SonicFox is officially in Skullgirls as a non-player character
One of the most successful fighting game competitors of all time adds yet another achievement to their growing resume as Dominique "EG|SonicFox" McLean now appears in Skullgirls as a non-player character.
The young fighting game champion, who also happens to be a furry, posted footage to Twitter early Friday evening as we see them in full fox costume giving pointers from the background of Class Notes stage.
EVO Online's decision to limit open tournaments to titles with great netcode is a bold message to fighting game developers
When news first dropped that EVO 2020 was cancelled and EVO Online would be taking its place, the FGC's immediate concern jumped to how the mainstage games would hold up considering none of them are known for their strong netplay capabilities.
The organizers behind EVO essentially side-stepped that issue completely, however, this week when they announced that none of those titles would be part of the open tournaments for EVO Online with those honors going instead to four fighting games championed by the community for their netcode prowess.
Skullgirls' improved netcode update and Wi-Fi indicator are now available for all players on PC
Hot off the heels of their big reveal as part of the EVO Online open tournament lineup, Skullgirls' playerbase woke up to another nice surprise for the fighting game.
The PC version of Skullgirls has been fully updated to include the previous beta improvements to the game's online netcode along with some other changes / additions to its systems.
EVO Online details revealed with 5 weeks of events, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate removed from lineup
With the cancellation of the main EVO 2020 event due to worries about the coronavirus pandemic, organizers have pivoted to move the event online with a newfound focus on fighting games with the best netplay around.
The first details for EVO Online have been revealed via an announcement trailer which will be split up over five weekends and features a very drastic change up to the events and games originally planned to take place.
