DOA6 Last Round Revives Mai and Kula, Then Charges You Twice

When Koei Tecmo first revealed Dead or Alive 6 Last Round, the PS5/Xbox Series/PC remaster of its 2019 fighter, the assumption was that SNK crossover characters Mai Shiranui and Kula Diamond wouldn't make the cut due to licensing. At EVO Japan 2026, the publisher confirmed the pair will return as day-one DLC when the game launches June 25. Good news, right? Mostly.

The catch: if you already bought Mai and Kula as DLC for the original Dead or Alive 6 on PS4, that purchase doesn't carry over. You'll need to buy them again. Each character comes with five debut costumes and their King of Fighters XIV outfits, plus bunny girl, maid, nurse, pirate, and wedding dress attire, as reported by Siliconera. I get that cross-platform licensing is messy, and I'd rather have the characters available at all than cut entirely. But combined with the fact that there's no upgrade path from the base game to Last Round either, this is starting to feel like a remaster designed to make you pay full freight for everything you already own. Koei Tecmo has said "some" DLC will transfer from PS4 to PS5, but hasn't clarified what that actually includes, which doesn't inspire confidence.

Alongside the character reveal, the publisher showed off a new lighting system called Oboro, debuting on the Lost Paradise stage. It uses ambient light and shadows for more realistic illumination through the Katana Engine, and free Oboro versions of other stages will roll out over time. Dead or Alive 6 Last Round launches June 25 on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam, with a free-to-play Core Fighters edition available the same day featuring Marie Rose, Honoka, and NiCO as playable characters.