Invincible Makers on Why They're Making a Tag Fighter

One of the biggest revelations from the Xbox Showcase was the announcement of Invincible VS. At IGN Live, we spoke with members of Skybound's Quarter Up studio to discover why this 3v3 fighting game is the perfect tag-team brawler for Robert Kirkman's superhero saga, complete with inspiration drawn from Killer Instinct.

Invincible VS brings together beloved characters from the comics and animated series, such as Mark Grayson (Invincible), Omni-Man, Thula, Atom Eve, and Bulletproof. The decision to make it a 3v3 fighter was heavily influenced by the series' emphasis on teams. For Art Director Dan Eder and Combat Designer Reepal Parbhoo, this made the game's format an obvious choice.

"When you watch the Invincible series or read the comics, the team dynamic is always front and center," Parbhoo explained. "You have groups like the Teen Team, the Guardians of the Globe, the Global Defense Agency, and the Viltrumites. That naturally lends itself to a team-based format rather than a standard one-on-one fighter."

While the team structure defined the game's style, Invincible VS is ultimately about its characters. The development team prioritized making each fighter feel authentic and true to the source material.

"We wanted to do justice to these characters," Eder stated. "The show's overall aesthetic was a major inspiration, but we also had to adapt it for a video game. That required careful decisions about detail, rendering style, anatomy, and more. Should we go realistic or more stylized? We aimed for a compelling 2D-3D hybrid where characters are lit realistically but outlined for clarity."

"Ultimately, we wanted this to feel like a genuine representation of the characters from the show and comics. Fortunately, with Invincible, there's a wealth of inspiration and reference material to draw from, which made our job much easier."

Moving from characters and format to gameplay, our conversation turned to the combat. Fans of Killer Instinct will be pleased to learn that Invincible VS is the first project from Skybound's Quarter Up, a studio led by former core developers of Killer Instinct (2013).

"Killer Instinct was a 1v1 tag fighter known for its impactful hits, and we've carried that over to Invincible VS," Parbhoo noted. "The core influence, however, lies in the two-way interaction between offense and defense. In Killer Instinct, you could react to and break combos with good reflexes, which at a high level shortened combos significantly. For a tag fighter, we still want those satisfying, extended combos. Our solution was to place those combo-break opportunities when you call in an active assist."

Regarding combos, Invincible VS is designed to be enjoyable for players of all skill levels. An optional mode allows players to execute a combo by simply mashing one button, which can trigger a special move, a super move, and even a tag swap.

The game will also feature an Overkill system. As Parbhoo describes it, "You'll hit a superhero so hard you might knock off a limb or two. That's just how things go in the world of Invincible."

Fans can be assured that series creator Robert Kirkman is deeply involved in the project. From an artistic standpoint, as the architect of this world, his input is invaluable to the team.

"We don't want this to feel disconnected from the source material," Eder said. "If anything, we can draw extensively from his knowledge and find creative ways to interpret it. We don't want to just recreate moments from the show beat-for-beat in the game, as that can become repetitive. We're constantly looking for ways to elevate the experience. Robert is central to those discussions—after all, who knows these characters better than him, Ryan Ottley, Corey Walker, and the other creators?"

Invincible VS is scheduled for release in 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. For more highlights, check out the biggest moments from both IGN Live and the Xbox Games Showcase.