Halfbrick Teases Big 'Fruit Ninja' Update

Get ready for a juicy new adventure, fruit ninjas.

The fruit-slicing game you all know and love is getting a major revamp. Developer Halfbrick on Monday announced it has "completely rebuilt" Fruit Ninja, which was originally released in 2010 and has racked up more than 500 million downloads worldwide.

The update is slated to arrive in early October in the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore.

For starters, "the team has thrown away the tired menu and [user interface] designs, ensuring the steps between playing, equipping new gear, and using social features are all streamlined," Halfbrick said.

Before starting a new game, you can now outfit yourself with different blades and dojos, which were previously cosmetic-only. Now, nearly every item will have a unique effect on gameplay. The "Great Wave" dojo, for instance, periodically spawns 10 fruit at once while the "Autumn Blade" creates a fruit-swirling tornado every time you slice a pineapple.

The new weapons should come in handy, since Halfbrick has "broken the score ceiling and added an exponential amount of depth and strategy to slicing." You'll also be able to mix and match your favorite weapons, and leaderboard entries will show which combinations of items you used.

To get you excited for the update, Halfbrick on Monday launched a new YouTube channel and five-part webisode series kicking off today. The first episode, "Ninjas in Training," (below) features the new character named Katsuro along with fan favorite mascot Truffles, who "wants to get a look behind the closed doors of the mysterious Fruit Ninja dojo."

For more, see PCMag's full review of Fruit Ninja (for Android).