The mechanized musician finally makes his playable debut next week, as Big Band will release for the PS3 version of Skullgirls Encore.

[UPDATE: The Skullgirls Twitter account has announced that Big Band will release for the retail PC version on 4/22 as well. The following article has been changed to reflect the new information.]

Those who own Skullgirls Encore on PC have access to the Endless Beta, which constantly updates with balance changes, character tweaks, and occasionally a DLC character or two. Along with Squigly, the 2nd DLC character “Big Band” made his unfinished-but-playable debut here. According to new updates from the official Skullgirls Twitter account, the first male character to be added to the roster will be available for the PS3 version, via PSN:

As Skullgirls Encore first released for PC, Big Band will also make his official debut for the PC version on 4/22. If his arrival is the same as Squigly’s, then Big Band should be made available through a Steam update.

Currently, the 4/22 date only applies to the North and South American regions. In a new update from the Twitter page, it was revealed that the approval process for the 360/XBLA version had been further delayed due to “legal issues” and technical problems involving the DLC:

As promised through the IndieGoGo campaign, all DLC will be free upon release for a brief period of time. Big Band is the 2nd of five DLC characters funded by the “Keep Skullgirls Growing!” crowd-funding campaign; Squigly is currently available, with future characters being Eliza, Beowulf and Robo-Fortune. Due to the immense amount of positive feedback regarding the April Fool’s Day character “Fukua“, Lab Zero has confirmed that she will eventually become a new DLC character for all versions of Encore. Until her character is balanced and reworked for the official game, Fukua will remain as a playable character in the Endless Beta on PC.

Source: Skullgirls Twitter
Image courtesy of Lab Zero Games