Necrid has also been the subject of scholarly study, which examined the nature of monstrous designs in video gaming and how players react to such.

[2][3][4] In 2003, McFarlane was interested in creating a new video game based on the Spawn comic book franchise; his search for a developer resulted in a deal with Soulcalibur publisher Namco.

When the topic of toys arose in discussions,[5] McFarlane and Namco reached an agreement to release a line of action figures based on Soulcalibur II characters.

[11] As a result, both companies hold a partial copyright for Necrid, with Namco's rights to the character as a derivative work of McFarlane's illustrations.

His eyes glow bright red, and short bones protrude from his left arm, back, jaw and a Mohawk-like ridge on his head.

His clothing consists of dark blue pants, large metal sandals held together by bandages, and armor plating covering his abdomen, the sides of his legs, and the back of his lower right arm.

A pauldron covering his right shoulder is fastened to the jewel's support harness, and the armor on his legs incorporate a pair of greaves.

[14] Necrid's speech is unintelligible, and the vocal samples in the game's sound test feature are named after emotions, such as "Determination" and "Indignation".

[16] Using fighting skills Yotoriyama described as "horrific splendor",[21] Necrid attacks using Maleficus, a transforming, physical manifestation of the energy in Soul Edge.

[23] Necrid can also attack using other forms of energy, such as ignis fatuus, æther, and chaos, represented in game as equipable alternate weapons with varying effects and attributes.

[29] Yotoriyama announced Necrid early in Soulcalibur II's production for the Xbox, in an interview with the Japanese magazine Famitsu.

They further added that McFarlane had "tainted" the game with Necrid's inclusion, with host Jeremy Parish stating "I could close my eyes and draw a better character".

[38] Eurogamer, when reviewing the 2013 HD remaster of Soulcalibur II, stated that in terms of in-game balance Necrid was the only character "in need of a tune-up", further adding "unless you really want to play as this emaciated Hulk with a chest-plate, it's easy just to forget that he's there".

An editor for the video game website GameZone wrote that his attacks compensated for his appearance and described him as "cool", while also praising both his weapon and fighting style.

[42] UGO's Doug Trueman stated Necrid's weapon had to be "seen to be believed", and described him among other new characters as "[adding] something spectacular to the Soul Calibur pantheon".

[44] Despite their negative remarks, Jesse Schedeen of IGN wrote that while they felt the character's gameplay was unbalanced, it added to Necrid's appeal, stating "what do you expect from a man who shares a symbiotic relationship with the very energy that powers Soul Edge?