Renders for Killer Instinct Zero, tweeted by series artist Kevin Bayliss.
"Killer Instinct Zero"[1] was the codename for an unreleased title in the Killer Instinct series. Planned for release on the Nintendo 64, the game would have been the third installment in the series, but it never even entered development before the team at Rare moved on to other projects.
History[]
In February 2024, artist Kevin Bayliss tweeted several concept renders for Killer Instinct Zero, the first ever public display of the game.[2] He then answered questions about the project in the replies, revealing information about the concept and its gameplay. While not much was planned outside of talks between Kevin Bayliss and Chris Tilston, Killer Instinct Zero would have been a prequel to the first Killer Instinct, starring younger versions of the series' characters and newcomers as they honed their martial arts talents. Unlike the brutal and fantastical combat of previous entries in the series, the gameplay would have had a more grounded approach to martial arts involving winning points rather than beating opponents into submission. The art style would have evolved on the 3D art of Killer Instinct 2, becoming even more colorful and cartoon-like. The renders that Kevin Bayliss posted were simply tests, and were not intended as redesigns of characters such as Jago or Orchid.
In the same thread, Kevin Bayliss claimed that he moved on to Diddy Kong Racing shortly after the idea was made, and Killer Instinct Zero was never in development besides concepts written and rendered by himself and a few other Rare employees.