We were surprised late last month when developer Nekki announced a new paid special edition version of their mega-popular free to play fighter Shadow Fight 2 (Free), mostly because the announcement came rather non-chalantly alongside the release date announcement of their upcoming sequel Shadow Fight 3. It seemed strange that, with so much focus on this brand new game, they’d be revisiting the game that came before it, but with Shadow Fight 2’s more than 300 million installs perhaps they felt like the fan base was still hungry for more. Then early this month Nekki announced that the special edition would be launching on August 17th, but we were surprised once more when they announced a delay late last week. Well, it turns out the delay wasn’t all that long, as Shadow Fight 2 Special Edition ($4.99) has finally launched in the App Store as of this morning.

The biggest selling points for Shadow Fight 2 Special Edition are that it removes the energy mechanic and the advertisements found in the original free to play version, and it also has an extended storyline with additional campaign levels. There’s still the option of buying in-game currencies as IAP though, and it will take some time to determine whether or not the balance is more “premium" as opposed to the free to play version. However, the free to play version also had an unlimited energy IAP option that was $19.99, so with Special Edition you’re getting that benefit for far less money and you’re getting additional content, so this looks like the definitive Shadow Fight 2 experience either way. You can buy Shadow Fight 2 Special Edition with the link below and you can find more impressions or leave your own in the game’s forum thread.