Is Skullgirls Dead? Can Fighter Survive 12th Year?

Is Skullgirls dead? The game has been out for a considerable amount of time. Even with the level of support it has gotten, it’s tricky to keep a game popular and thriving for this long. That has led to a lot of players speculating about the game’s health and is Skullgirls dead. Despite a lot of changes to the titles and times where most would have written it off, Skullgirls has actually stayed pretty healthy.

The game’s player numbers (that we can track) don’t seem to be at their peak. Far from it. However, they are still enjoying some big numbers when there’s fighting game news pushing Skullgirls back into focus. There are also a lot of tournaments held, still pretty regularly for the game. This is how we can track is Skullgirls dead, and what the game’s current state seems to be.

Source: Autumn Games

Is Skullgirls Dead?
In fighting games, titles often have a longer life than other genres. It’s not uncommon to see decade-old games still featured at major tournaments. Skullgirls isn’t quite that old, but it’s definitely not on the younger side anymore.

The original Skullgirls was released in 2012. It had some support teased early on, but legal action complicated things. The original developer had to lay off the staff before they reformed with a different name. Even a year into release, events like this were cause to wonder is Skullgirls dead. However, things bounced back. The game was featured at EVO as a side tournament and quickly grew as a competitive title.

That wasn’t the end of the trouble for Skullgirls though. Funding problems continued. This led to a change of publisher, and some crowdfunding to pay for continued content. Eventually, a wider version of the game was published as Skullgirls 2nd Encore. If this is where players thought they could stop worrying is Skullgirls dead. However, there were yet more complications. The game had mass resignations after inappropriate conduct allegations, and has transitioned developers again a few years ago.

Despite all these behind-the-scenes problems and delays, Skullgirls has managed to maintain a regular release schedule of new content. A staggering amount of support given its history. It certainly isn’t dead. How has its player numbers held up through the years though?

Is Skullgirls Dead? How Many People Still Play
A game’s best measure of its life has to be the player numbers. While we don’t get accurate numbers for every platform, we can look at how many people play Skullgirls on Steam. This gives us a snapshot. It’s not a complete picture, but how far the game is from its peak can help us answer is Skullgirls dead.

Source: SteamCharts

Looking at the Steam numbers for the title, it had its highest player numbers in the first years after release. Both for the original game and the 2nd Encore version. In the time, since it has maintained relatively steady player counts. Although, often being in only triple digits. It’s definitely not the most popular fighting game. Skullgirls maintains some interest on Steam, especially with new DLC releases. However, it’s a bit lower than its competition.

Other consoles are now a bigger factor, with Skullgirls releasing more widely. We can likely assume a similar trend on those platforms though.

Tournaments
Another way of measuring is Skullgirls dead is to look at how widely it’s being played in esports events. In this department, Skullgirls has never been on the same level as games like Street Fighter. However, it still has a following. It regularly pops up as a smaller tournament and hasn’t really contracted. In this sense, Skullgirls is doing a lot better than some other games.

Skullgirls Mobile and the Future
Another factor in deciding is Skullgirls dead is the mobile version. This is a newer spin-off that makes Skullgirls free to play. This has a decent player base too. Considering this alongside its console players, Skullgirls might still have a decent enough following.

Source: Autumn Games

While the game’s player base is quite a bit smaller than it used to be, Skullgirls isn’t dead. The title still gets regular support, new versions, and even has tournaments. It’s not exactly growing, but Skullgirls has had a longer and more impactful life than most other small fighting games.