King of Fighters 14 Will Launch With 50 Characters, DLC Plans Not Decided

King of Fighters 14 will launch with a roster of 50 characters, all of which will be playable from the outset, developer SNK Playmore has revealed.

The King of Fighters series is known for having a large cast of characters, and in an interview with Japanese gaming publication Famitsu, as translated by Siliconera, director Yasuyuki Oda was asked if the complete roster will be available from the outset, or if newcomers will be added post-launch.

"That'll be fine. All 50 characters will be playable at launch," he replied. "There will be numerous characters at launch, and we don't plan on adding more bits at a time, so be sure to properly jot that down [laughs]. It wouldn't be a KoF game with a small number of characters, after all."

On the subject of DLC characters, Oda said the developer isn't currently sure about post-launch additions.

"[DLC] will have to wait until we see how the 50 characters do after launch, so it has yet to be decided."

KoF 14 was announced during the PlayStation press conference at Tokyo Game Show 2015: "This brand new KOF numbered series title features high-quality 3D visuals, however staying true to the gameplay roots of the series," SNK Playmore said at the time.

The game has only been announced for PS4, and it is unclear whether the title will be exclusive to Sony's console. The last game in the series, King of Fighters 13, was released on Xbox 360 and PC. The game is scheduled to ship across Japan in 2016.

Capcom's Street Fighter 5, meanwhile, will be released with 16 fighters initially. Following this, new characters will be introduced through DLC. These can be purchased or unlocked using an currency earnable in-game. Street Fighter 5 will launch in Europe and North America on February 16.