A Super Nintendo Entertainment System version of Killer Instinct 2 was developed and completed, but never released.

Throws have been added into the game to deal with blocking characters (as opposed to the top attack in Killer Instinct).

[3] This super bar fills as a fighter takes damage or executes an attack that is blocked by the opponent.

By pressing a certain strength button after an opener move, a player will launch an auto-double and initiate the combo system of the game.

Additionally, Super Moves can be placed into combos, greatly increasing their damage and potency as well as being unbreakable.

As a result of the weakened normal moves and other changes to the system, combos have now become more devastating in Killer Instinct 2.

Unlike the Mortal Kombat Fatalities, the Killer Instinct 2's finishing moves do not feature brutality or blood.

Eyedol, Chief Thunder, Cinder, and Riptor were omitted from the roster; Gargos, Kim Wu, Maya, and Tusk were introduced in their place.

The game’s music was primarily composed by Robin Beanland, who had worked with Graeme Norgate on its predecessor and with the other team.

Norgate contributed to some tracks, but left partway in development to compose music for Blast Corps (1997) and Goldeneye 007.

The game suffered some graphical downgrades and the endings for each character do not change (as they would in the Arcade version) due to the memory limitations of the Nintendo 64 cartridge.

The digital version of the game was developed by Code Mystics and published by Microsoft Studios and supports online multiplayer via Xbox Live.

The soundtrack, along with several unreleased KI2 demo tracks, was included as part of the Killer Instinct Season 2 double-album set released on August 4, 2015.

[8] Though not as critically acclaimed as its predecessor, Killer Instinct 2 still garnered positive reviews and was a commercial success.

He also criticized that while the characters are larger and more detailed, this is at the cost of slower game speed and a choppier frame rate.