[1] Each warrior has a unique set of weapons and attributes that the player must utilize appropriately in order to defeat their opponent.

The game features a more realistic weapons damage system of fighting where weapons can cause heavy amounts of damage, breaking or amputating limbs, and potentially even instantly impinge fatal wounds such as from a strong strike to the chest or being decapitated, which subsequently can lead to some fights lasting as little as a few seconds without proper defense.

If a special strike lands when their opponent is critically low on health, the victor will perform a violent finishing kill/execution.

Online multiplayer also allows one-on-one battles between human opponents, along with a tournament mode that can host multiple players at once.

[citation needed] The original release of the game features eight playable warriors from different time periods; a 19th century Apache warrior, a Centurion of the Roman legion, a Medieval European Knight, a Ninja and a Samurai of feudal Japan, an 18th century Pirate, an ancient Spartan hoplite, and a late 1st millennium Viking.

[6] The television show itself was reported to have been popular when featured on both the Xbox 360's and PlayStation 3's online services, resulting in what was considered "a logical next step for the franchise".

Despite being attached to an intellectual property, Lathan felt that the game would fare better is it appealed to both fans and non-fans while also not having development time tied to the premiere of the second series.

[6] In choosing the warriors, creative director Prithvi Virasinghe said that it was "a combined effort between the show, the developers and the community", taking into account the most popular episodes.

[citation needed] Prior to release the developers wanted to include an option for downloadable content due to the selection process of warriors and the resulting cuts made.

[8] Despite the poll also featuring historical figures like William Wallace and Vlad the Impaler, Spike later confirmed that no famous individuals from the show would appear in the first DLC pack.

During the Live Aftermath segment on August 20, 2010, new Deadliest Warrior host Richard "Mack" Machowicz revealed that the Rajput would be one of the first downloadable character, with a possible release date in early 2011.

"This is most prominently reflected in our sales, where 'Deadliest Warrior: The Game' continues to be a top 10 best selling title on Xbox Live Arcade after a month.

Additional content which was not in the original versions includes 30 new weapons (one for each of the three categories for the 10 Legends), a new Graveyard arena, and new gameplay modes.