Dead or Alive 6 Last Round Pummeled by Negative Reviews as Koei Tecmo Asks Players to Rebuy DLC

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round has fallen to "Mostly Negative" reviews on Steam as players warn of persistent bugs, lacking features, and a requirement to rebuy some previously owned DLC.

At the time of this story's publication, only a staggering 23% percent of ratings for the PC version of the 3D fighting game are positive following its June 24 launch. It all stems from a variety of criticisms being lobbed against the re-release, as veteran players and newcomers alike demand fixes.

When Dead or Alive 6 Last Round arrived last week, it replaced the now-delisted original 2019 version of the game . Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja positioned the new version as a slight upgrade that bundles in new features, with the promise that new DLC is also in development.

Priced at $40, it also includes five previously released add-on characters, as well as five new costumes. A free-to-play version, subtitled "Core Fighters," is also available but does not include the story mode and limits the roster to Kasumi, Marie Rose, Honoka, and NiCO.

In the seven years since its first launch, the game has accumulated a list of 440 DLCs. Although a portion of that includes bundle offers, some quick math makes it painfully clear that there is a lot that does not come with Dead or Alive 6 Last Round. This point of contention is just the tip of the iceberg for fans, with many also pointing out that those who previously owned the add-on content can transfer most – but not all – of it to the new game.

"Good game but the negative review stays until the game comes with all the seven-year-old DLC from the previous edition of the game," one Steam review said .

Even if one player had theoretically purchased every last character and costume pack prior to that June 24 launch date, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round would still bar them from two of its playable DLC fighters: Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond. An explanation on the Team Ninja website clarified that Mai and Kula and their costumes cannot be carried over.

The two King of Fighters crossover characters are the exceptions to Koei Tecmo's transfer plan, meaning players need to pay extra cash to unlock them even if they had already done so for the 2019 release. To make matters worse, as pointed out by GameSpot , both Mai and Kula used to cost $8 each – now they're $11.

Realistically, the fact that Mai and Kula are crossover characters from SNK Corporation would be the factor at play here. It would appear that, whatever agreement Koei Tecmo has in place with SNK for the appearance of Mai and Kula, it does not include the ability to wheel them out in re-releases in perpetuity. Unfortunately, Koei Tecmo's updates to the base experience have done little to cushion the blow. The main selling point here, as laid out on the Dead or Alive 6 Last Round website , is the promise that the game has been "improved and updated for current-gen hardware." However, most players are struggling to find any noticeable changes. Some of the more vicious " copy-paste " allegations point out that the pause menu still features a graphic for the 2015 iteration of the Steam controller.

"It's the same exact game with the same bugs that were reported six years ago with a few changes," another Steam review said. "So my review is the same but without the 5.5K hours of modding the game... and no mouse navigation in the menus too. Also, mods are now broken."

"I thought there would be some sort of differences to this than base DOA6, like noticeable graphics improvements or better character models with more details," another said. "But it's the exact ******* same. No wonder there was basically no info on this before its release. If there are any differences, they're so minor that I can't tell. There is literally no need to currently buy this if you already have base DOA6."

Dead or Alive 6 Last Round's other major selling point is its new photo mode, though it appears to be a drop in the bucket compared to what was expected. Instead of sharing creations online, most players are voicing concerns about bugs that have persisted through releases, as well as missing features, such as crossplay or rollback netcode.

"There [are] no balance changes, no major visual change; all they did was add a new photo mode and lighting changes," one reviewer said . "The new character coming is DLC and didn't release with the launch of the game, so who knows if it will be free or not."

They continued: "This hurts, man. It feels like Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo just don't care about DoA anymore. I honestly don't even dislike DoA6 mechanics outside of the meter system, but Last Round just feels kinda scammy."

Steam reviews for Dead or Alive 6 Last Round are filled with comments calling it " shameful ," " too expensive ," an " absolute joke ," and much, much more. Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja have not officially commented on the uproar. What they have commented on, however, is the first post-launch DLC: a new character named Minato. How much they will cost is unclear.

IGN's 6/10 review called Dead or Alive 6 Last Round a "great fighting game wrapped up in a very bad package" when it launched for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S last week. We added that it does "little to justify why this re-release wasn't just another DLC pack." IGN gave the original version of the game a 7.7/10 review .

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).