Originally intended to be released in 1998, the game's plot involves ten people who all get sent to Hell after dying on Earth and are forced by Marukka, the Goddess of Secrets, to fight to the death for a chance at reincarnation.

Thrill Kill began development as Earth Monster, a sports video game based on the Mesoamerican ballgame in which characters attacked one another as they tried to get a ball into a hoop.

"Arcade Mode" puts players through eight stages against computer-controlled opponents, the first six of which are four-player matches, while the latter two are one-on-one battles against the characters Judas and Marukka, respectively.

[1] Stages include Dante's Cage, the Crematorium, Sacrificial Ruins, Chamber of Anguish, the Lavatory, Insane Asylum, Slaughterhouse of Flesh, Sewer of Styx, Sinner's Cell, and Homicide Avenue.

[5] In the story of Thrill Kill, Marukka decides out of boredom to gather ten people who have been sent to Hell for their sins to fight to the death for a chance at being reincarnated.

Harvard Bonin, the producer assigned to Thrill Kill, showed developers fetish magazines, such as Skin Two, and BDSM DVDs as references for the desired art direction.

The plot of Thrill Kill, based around each of the characters fighting for a chance at resurrection after being sent to Hell, was written by the game's assistant producer, Brian Gomez, and inspired by the musical Cats.

In August 1998, the North American operations of Virgin Interactive were acquired by Electronic Arts as part of their purchase of Westwood Studios, which led to EA gaining the publishing rights to Thrill Kill.

According to Louis Castle, founder of Westwood Studios, "EA...was working hard to overcome the industry stigma of games as a more violent medium than film or TV.

"[8] Members of Thrill Kill's development team were not directly informed by EA that the game was cancelled and instead found out by reading articles about it on the Internet, according to producer Kevin Mulhall.

[4][9] Although it was never made available for retail purchase, bootleg versions of the game were uploaded to pirating websites by its developers, and it became one of the most popular and frequently downloaded ROMs on the Internet.

"[2] Also reviewing the game's beta version, IGN's Jeff Chen wrote, "The action at this point is somewhat stiff, but it's still early, and if you're looking for blood and guts, this has got more than we'd ever imagined.

"[3] In their September 2004 issue, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine cited Thrill Kill as one of the most overrated cancelled games, stating, "It got lots of hype.

"[13] Den of Geek's Gavin Jasper called Thrill Kill, Tattoo Assassins, and Primal Rage 2 the "holy trinity of almost-to-completely-finished fighting games that didn't get released".