SNK isn’t known for utilizing sneak attacks to throw their customers off guard, but this one got me saying “Wait, what?” when I first heard of it this morning. Seriously, was there some sort of meeting that I missed out on a month ago or something?

As of today, quite literally from out of nowhere, King of Fighters XIII is now available...... as an iPhone app. Working under the title King of Fighters-i, the portable version of the upcoming console game sports four different single player game modes, extra unlockables, controls via the touchscreen, and online play. It also looks pretty slick, despite being shrunk down on the smaller platform, and the smooth 2D animations and visual effects are still intact. The game only has 13 characters with two color swaps each, but comes with the console exclusive Billy Kane, with more to come as DLC in the future.

The game is currently out in several regions, including New Zealand, with the US version expected to be released later this evening. If you have an iPhone, a few bucks to spare, and a huge eagerness to get some hands-on time with the game before it comes out on consoles, this could be a better chance than any.