TL;DR
Koei Tecmo's re-released Dead or Alive 6: Last Round forces players to repurchase DLC they already own, retains unpatched bugs from 2019, and still lacks rollback netcode—a standard feature in modern fighting games. This marks one of the most aggressive and anti-consumer re-release strategies in recent gaming history, arriving just as the franchise attempts a comeback.
What Happened
On June 26, 2026, Koei Tecmo quietly launched Dead or Alive 6: Last Round on Steam and consoles—a "definitive" edition that instead shipped with unfixed bugs from the 2019 original, no rollback netcode, and a DLC system requiring players to repurchase content they already own from the base game. Within 48 hours, the game's Steam rating cratered to "Mostly Negative" with over 1,200 user reviews citing the re-release as a "cash grab" and "scam."
Key Facts
- Koei Tecmo published Dead or Alive 6: Last Round on June 26, 2026, seven years after the original Dead or Alive 6 launched in March 2019.
- The re-release retains at least four known bugs from the 2019 version, including the "infinite loading screen" on specific stages and a character texture corruption glitch affecting Hitomi and Kasumi.
- Last Round uses delay-based netcode instead of rollback netcode, a technology that has been standard in fighting games since 2020 (e.g., Guilty Gear Strive, Street Fighter 6).
- Players who own any DLC from the original Dead or Alive 6 must repurchase it in the Last Round version—including the $89.99 Season Pass 4 content—because the re-release uses a separate product ID on Steam and PlayStation Network.
- The game launched at a $49.99 base price on Steam, with the "Ultimate Edition" (including all DLC) priced at $149.99—despite many players already owning that content.
- Kotaku broke the story on June 28, 2026, citing user reports and SteamDB data showing the DLC repurchase requirement.
- The Dead or Alive franchise has not released a new mainline title since 2019, and Last Round was positioned as a "revival" for the series ahead of a potential Dead or Alive 7 announcement.
Breaking It Down
The DLC repurchase requirement is the most egregious element, but it's not an accident—it's a deliberate product architecture decision. Koei Tecmo chose to list Last Round as a separate SKU rather than a free upgrade or paid DLC patch for the original game. This means the game's store page and back-end database treat every piece of DLC as brand-new content. Players who spent $200+ on the original game's DLC now see those items locked behind a second paywall.
On Steam, the Dead or Alive 6: Last Round base game alone costs $49.99, while the Ultimate Edition with all DLC runs $149.99—meaning a player who already owns the full original game and DLC would need to spend $149.99 again to access content they already purchased, on the same platform, under the same publisher.
This isn't a technical limitation. Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and Mortal Kombat 1 all allow players to carry forward DLC or offer discounted upgrade paths. Koei Tecmo's decision to force a full repurchase suggests a strategy of maximizing short-term revenue from a niche but loyal fanbase—many of whom have been waiting years for any new Dead or Alive content. The backlash, however, has been immediate and severe. The game's Steam concurrent player count peaked at 2,134 on launch day, compared to the original's peak of 8,432 in 2019, indicating that even hardcore fans are voting with their wallets.
The lack of rollback netcode is equally damning. In 2026, delay-based netcode is widely considered unacceptable for a fighting game sold at full price. Guilty Gear Strive (2021), Street Fighter 6 (2023), and Tekken 8 (2024) all launched with rollback as a core feature. Dead or Alive 6: Last Round uses the same netcode that made online play in the original game notoriously laggy, particularly for players outside Japan and North America. Koei Tecmo has not acknowledged this issue in any patch notes or community updates.
The unfixed bugs compound the frustration. The infinite loading screen bug—triggered by selecting certain stage-specific intros—was first reported on the Koei Tecmo forums in April 2019 and was never patched. The texture corruption on Hitomi's character model, where her outfit textures fail to load during certain cutscenes, has existed since June 2019. These are not obscure glitches; they are well-documented, reproducible issues that the developer simply chose not to address for seven years. Re-releasing the game with these bugs intact signals either a lack of quality assurance resources or a deliberate decision to ship the minimum viable product.
What Comes Next
The next 30 days will determine whether Dead or Alive 6: Last Round becomes a cautionary tale or a forced correction. Several events are critical:
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Steam Refund Wave (by July 5, 2026): Steam's refund policy allows automatic refunds for purchases within 14 days and under 2 hours of playtime. Given the negative reviews, a significant refund wave is likely, potentially exceeding $500,000 in returned revenue based on the game's $49.99 price and estimated 10,000 initial sales. Koei Tecmo will have to decide whether to issue a statement or risk further refunds.
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Koei Tecmo Investor Call (July 15, 2026): The company's quarterly earnings call will include a segment on Dead or Alive franchise performance. Analysts from Niko Partners and Kantan Games have already flagged the DLC controversy in pre-call notes. Expect questions about whether Koei Tecmo plans to offer a free upgrade path or DLC cross-compatibility for original owners.
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Potential Community Lawsuit (by late July 2026): Consumer advocacy groups, including the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and U.S. Public Interest Research Group, have previously targeted companies for "digital repurchasing" practices. If a class-action lawsuit is filed, it would likely cite unfair trade practices under EU Directive 2011/83/EU and California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
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Dead or Alive 7 Announcement Delay (likely 2027): Koei Tecmo had been expected to announce Dead or Alive 7 at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2026. Given the Last Round backlash, the announcement may be postponed to 2027 to allow the controversy to cool and to retool the game's netcode and monetization.
The Bigger Picture
This controversy sits at the intersection of Fighting Game Monetization and Consumer Rights in Digital Marketplaces. The fighting game genre has largely moved toward cross-generation DLC compatibility and free next-gen upgrades—Street Fighter 6 allows players to carry all DLC between PS4 and PS5, and Tekken 8 offered a free upgrade path for Tekken 7 owners. Koei Tecmo's Last Round strategy is a regression that risks alienating the very fans who sustain the genre's niche but lucrative ecosystem.
The second trend is GaaS (Games as a Service) Fatigue. Players are increasingly resistant to paying full price for "definitive editions" that offer minimal improvements. The 2024 failure of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and the 2025 controversy over NBA 2K26's "Edition Locking" showed that audiences are willing to revolt against perceived greed. Dead or Alive 6: Last Round may become the 2026 poster child for this backlash, especially as Valve and Epic Games face pressure from regulators to enforce stricter refund policies for re-releases.
Key Takeaways
- [DLC Repurchase Requirement]: Players who own Dead or Alive 6 DLC must buy it again in Last Round due to separate SKUs—a decision that has triggered mass refunds and negative reviews.
- [Unfixed Bugs]: The re-release ships with at least four bugs from 2019, including an infinite loading screen and character texture corruption, indicating minimal QA investment.
- [No Rollback Netcode]: Last Round uses delay-based netcode, a standard that fighting games abandoned by 2021, making online play laggy and uncompetitive.
- [Franchise Impact]: The backlash may delay the announced Dead or Alive 7 and erode fan trust ahead of the series' planned revival, with potential legal and regulatory consequences.
