Dead or Alive 5 Last Round

History

Dead or Alive 5 Last Round was announced on August 31, 2014, for a spring 2015 release. Honoka was revealed in Famitsu on January 13, 2015. The game launched on February 17, 2015 in North America, February 19 in Japan, and February 20 in Europe, with a digital-only English release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Pre-order bonuses varied by retailer: GameStop and GAME offered Ninja 2015 and Aloha costume sets; Amazon, Best Buy, and ShopTo offered Showstopper and Beach Party sets.

Japan had Collector's Edition and Strongest Package special editions. A free-to-play version, Core Fighters, was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One with four base characters and optional DLC purchases. The Xbox One also had a trial version with limited playtime. The arcade version received a free upgrade patch on February 17, 2015.

Characters

Last Round retains all 32 characters from Ultimate, including four Virtua Fighter guest characters and three DLC characters (Marie Rose, Nyotengu, Phase-4), with over 300 costumes. Four new characters are added: Raidou, an undead cyborg and Ayane's biological father who steals techniques; Honoka, an 18-year-old Japanese schoolgirl using her own style called Honoka Fu and a mysterious power; Mai Shiranui, a guest from Fatal Fury/The King of Fighters series added on September 13, 2016; and Naotora Ii, a guest from Samurai Warriors 4, arriving on February 25, 2016 in arcades and as downloadable content for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows in March 2016.

Reception

The game received mixed to average reviews on GameRankings and Metacritic, with OpenCritic reporting 36% of critics recommending it. Reviewers from Game Informer, Game Revolution, Gaming Age, PlayStation Universe, X-One, and ZTGD praised it as accessible with much content for newcomers, while Hardcore Gamer noted the few new additions were not compelling and there were launch bugs. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Dead or Alive 5 for Fighting Game of the Year at the 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.

The PS4 and Xbox One versions sold over 35,000 physical copies in Japan in the first week. Across all platforms, the game sold over 330,000 copies in four months, and combined sales of Dead or Alive 5, Ultimate, and Last Round exceeded 1.5 million by mid-2015. Free-to-play downloads reached 4 million in six months, 6 million by April 2016, 8 million by January 2017, 9 million by July 2017, 10 million by September 2017, 11 million by June 2018, and 12 million by January 2019.