Rising Thunder devs to release final edition of cancelled fighting game

Rising Thunder, an indie fighting game cancelled in 2016, is getting a second lease of life.

The game was cancelled after developers Radiant Entertainment were acquired by Riot in 2016. However, Radiant Entertainment revealed on Monday that they would be releasing one final edition of the game, the Rising Thunder: Community Edition.

This version is intended to drop the game, and its source code, into the hands of Rising Thunder’s fanbase, allowing them to continue working on and improving the title. The release will be free and include several quality-of-life improvements, in addition to the source code for the game’s online matchmaking servers, giving the game a second lease at life.

Considering the title’s development was cancelled after Riot acquired the studio, this is surprising news, especially as many are theorising that Radiant Entertainment are hard at work on a mystery game within Riot.

Rising Thunder was hotly anticipated, and had a stellar team behind the scenes. Tom and Tony Canon, the founders of the EVO fighting game tournament series, were developing it, and fighting game champion Seth Killian, a well known figure in the scene who also worked with Capcom on Street Fighter IV, was the game’s producer. Sadly the industry will never get the game they would have delivered, but this Community Edition is a release the community can form around, and try to hack together their own solutions moving forwards.

The Community Edition is due to release in January.