An update on Ranked Killer Leaderboards for December 2022/January 2023

UltraTech Timestamp:

Hello Killer Instinct players! This is James Goddard, sharing an update on Killer Instinct’s Ranked Killer Leaderboards on behalf of the entire KI team.

In late 2022, our team was working on an update to ensure our Killer Leaderboards remain active on all platforms (Xbox consoles, Windows PC, and Steam) well into the future, with the goal of releasing this update at the end of December to cover 2023 and beyond. Unfortunately, we could not safely make this update at the intended time.

We had to wait until yesterday to update Xbox and Windows PC Ranked Leaderboards. This delay resulted in several unforeseen issues:

  • The December Top 32 Killer Leaderboard did not close, resulting in all Ranked play in January being included as part of the December board when it was locked yesterday (January 31, 2023, at about 3:30pm Pacific Time). This effectively made it an extended eight-week Top 32, and only one Pro Star was rewarded for this period.
  • January’s Top 32 began at approximately 3:30pm Pacific Time on January 31, 2023, and ended at 11:59PM PT on the same day.
  • Delaying the update to the Leaderboards has caused the system to perceive this period as a 30-day gap, even for players who played Ranked in January.  Per the rules of this system, we believe all players were bumped down by one rank, which is why many players in Ranked Killer League are now in Gold status and will have to battle their way back into Killer ranks. We are truly sorry about this, as it is not something we have a way to undo. There are already several players who have regained their Killer status through Ranked play – we see you, and thank you!
  • Because of the shortened period, only three players made the January Top 32. We do not have a way to fix this, and we’re sorry.

The good news is that we have a team in place to ensure this does not happen again, and that yesterday’s updates to the Ranked Leaderboards on Xbox and Windows PC ensure stability for several more years. Additionally, we are working on some of our backend services and fixing existing bugs, with the goal of making it easier for us to keep Killer Instinct running strong well into the future. (We also have not forgotten about the hacked Leaderboards, more on that in a later post!)

Steam’s Ranked mode is also currently down, and players cannot get into the mode for issues related to the updates to Ranked Leaderboards needing to be extended. This, however, is not a configuration fix like with Xbox/Windows platforms: we have a fix and are beginning the QA process shortly. This may take us a few more weeks, and Ranked Killer League will remain offline on Steam during this time. We’re very sorry for this delay, and we will update with a proper patch date for Steam as soon as we’re able.

Thank you to all of you, our community, for always keeping us notified when issues come up – and for being patient while we work through these issues. We will keep you updated on the progress of the current and planned fixes, and we appreciate your continued support over the last nine+ years since Killer Instinct’s launch. We’re beyond proud of our Ranked Leagues – they were one of the first of their kind in the fighting game space, and some players have reached an incredible 70+ Pro Stars since launch! – and it’s our goal to ensure these updates help support the Killer Leaderboards for many more years.

-James