Good news, Dead or Alive fans: SNK crossover legends Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond are confirmed to be bouncing their way into the PS5 remaster Dead or Alive 6: Last Round. Bad news, Dead or Alive fans: your PS4 wallet is about as transferable as a save file on a corrupted hard drive.
According to Push Square, the two King of Fighters 14 guest characters will NOT be included in the Standard Edition of the game - meaning players will have to purchase them separately on top of buying the remaster itself. And if you already paid for them on PS4? Congratulations, you have been speedrun into a double purchase.
A classic case of DLC amnesia
This is the kind of move that makes the gaming community collectively alt-F4 out of their goodwill. Mai Shiranui in particular is one of the most iconic guest characters in the DoA roster's history, and Kula Diamond is no slouch either - treating them as paid extras that don't carry over feels like a genuine nerf to consumer trust.
To be fair, the initial situation was apparently even grimmer - Push Square notes that their return in Last Round was not even confirmed at first, so at least we are not in a "they're gone forever" timeline. Small mercies. Very small. Pixel-sized, even.
The loot drop you didn't ask for
The pattern of PS4-to-PS5 remasters failing to honor previously purchased DLC is unfortunately not a new boss fight for players. It is a recurring enemy type at this point, and publishers seem intent on keeping it in the rotation. Whether the pricing for these characters will be reasonable enough to soften the blow remains to be seen.
For now, if you are a devoted Mai or Kula main who shelled out on PS4, prepare to grind some real-world currency before you can re-main them on PS5. The hitbox may be the same, but the price tag hits differently.
