Xbox One's Killer Instinct not affected by sale of its developer

Last night, online retailer Amazon made the surprise announcement that it had purchased Killer Instinct developer Double Helix, leading some to question what that meant for the free-to-play Xbox One game's ongoing support. No need to worry, Microsoft Studios executive Phil Spencer assured fans, saying the company is prepared to handle the transition.

"Our internal Killer Instinct team is still here and franchise is in good hands," Spencer said on Twitter after news of the deal broke last night. "We had a plan in place for this transition."

Killer Instinct is free-to-play, but you can also purchase additional characters for $5 each. A second "season" of content is coming to the game in 2014, Microsoft told IGN last summer. The game was one of the Xbox One's 23 launch titles.

Spencer went on to say that the Killer Instinct franchise--which Microsoft owns--"will continue," because the series is something that he believes in. No further plans were revealed.

Double Helix also created the all-new Strider game coming to consoles and PC later this month. The reasoning behind Amazon's purchase of Double Helix remains a mystery, though the company reportedly has big plans for game development going forward.