Evolution 2024 was in the books, and what an event it was. With the entire fighting game community gathered in one place, it’s also the perfect place to showcase new information about updates: balance and gameplay additions, character DLC, and more — and the announcements at Evo this year were a huge hit.
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising takes its game to the next level
GBVSR had a very impressive showing at Evo this year, but it looks like this is just the beginning of the game’s journey to becoming a community favorite. The beautiful yet terrifying Versusia was revealed near the start of Evo, and she was playable at the CyGames booth. Versusia exudes raw power, with attacks that look and feel absolutely devastating. She’s set to release on August 20, and it’ll be interesting to see how she affects the game’s dynamics. She’ll come with a variety of gameplay tweaks, a new Grandmaster rank, and additions to the game’s single-player mode.
Also announced but not playable is Vikila, whose cheerful personality and diminutive stature are a stark contrast to the chaos of Versusia. She’ll be available in October of this year, with a gameplay reveal almost certain to come before her launch. Vikila and Versusia round out Season 1’s DLC characters, but a Season 2 trailer—along with a glimpse of cult favorite Sandalphon—was enough to get the Evo arena jumping with excitement about what’s to come.
Guilty Gear Strive brings us something old, something new, and something very different.
Guilty Gear Strive continues to thrive as one of the most beloved fighting games out there, and this year’s Evo finals were a perfect demonstration of why the game has such a passionate following. Those fans have a lot to look forward to in the near future, as developer and publisher Arc System Works has announced the full list of upcoming DLC characters for Guilty Gear Strive’s fourth season.
Returning to the scene will be long-time series staples Dizzy and Venom, with new looks and, in the case of Queen Dizzy, a fitting royal title. Details on the brand-new addition, Unika, are scarce, but she’s a character who will be prominently featured in the upcoming Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers anime.
Perhaps the most surprising announcement, however, is that of Guilty Gear’s first guest character from a completely different franchise. Lucy from Cyberpunk Edgerunners will be entering the arena next summer, and it will be interesting to see how she fits in with Guilty Gear’s diverse cast of famous characters.
Also coming to GG Strive: a 3v3 battle mode. This mode is still in development, but you’ll be able to try out its open beta today, July 25. New stages and character colors will also be added, so fans will have a lot to look forward to next year.
Hunter X Hunter Nen Impact makes a strong impression
The upcoming anime game from Marvel vs Capcom 3 developer Eighting and publisher Arc System Works is already playable and has been met with a warm reception. While the inputs for special attacks are simplified compared to other team-based games, the feel of the game is as frantic and strategic as ever, and the personalities and top-notch skills of the beloved Hunter X Hunter cast shine through beautifully. Merurem, the ferocious insect warrior, was just announced and playable at Arc System Works’ booth. Who else will be revealed before Hunter X Hunter Nen Impact launches this winter? Only time will tell.
SNK Announces Fatal Fury: City of Wolves and Continues Support for King of Fighters XV
SNK’s flagship, King of Fighters XV, had another great year at Evo with a huge turnout across the country, and they’re still working hard to keep the game fresh and exciting. Two beloved characters have been announced for their return to the arena in December: the beautiful and deadly Vice and Mature.
Fatal Fury: City of Wolves had a big reveal at the event. A demo booth for the game proved popular throughout the week, and an exhibition featuring top players from the community showed off just how fun and explosive the game can be, even at this early stage of development. A new but familiar FFCOW character was also revealed at the event: Kevin Rian and his young friend Marky returned to the ongoing Fatal Fury storyline in their hunt for justice.
Finally, SNK has one more surprise up its sleeve: The re-release of Capcom’s popular fighting game SvC Chaos is now available on PS4 and PS5 with restored netcode.
Street Fighter 6 Gives Us a Taste of Terry
Speaking of crossovers, Capcom has given fans a preview of what SNK and Fatal Fury’s iconic fighter Terry Bogard will look like and play in Street Fighter 6 ahead of Top 6. Terry comes from the streets of his hometown of South Town to battle the fiercest fighters in Metro City, and if this trailer is any indication, things are going to get pretty chaotic indeed!
Tekken 8 reveals Heihachi Mishima… is alive.
By the time you read this, you’ve probably already played as Lidia from Tekken 8, who made a prominent appearance at Bandai Namco’s Tekken stations on the Evo stage. Lidia’s announcement at Evo Japan was met with much fanfare, but things are about to get even wilder in the world of Tekken.
You don’t think Tekken 8 will Actually In a stunning trailer, the Tekken Project team revealed the next DLC fighter: Heihachi Mishima, a man so powerful and immortal that he has resurfaced to wreak havoc on his entire cursed bloodline.
Supporting Heihachi’s return from the flames of hell will be a new free single-player story DLC, which adds DLC fighters to the ongoing story—however, this DLC will be free for all players, so there’s no need to purchase the DLC to enjoy it. Both Heihachi and the new story content are tentatively scheduled for release this fall. Also announced was the date and location of the Tekken World Tour 2024 finals, the culminating event that will take place in Shibuya, Japan.
Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes Brings a Fearsome New Warrior
Uzuki, a young girl in a hat and glasses, is the first DLC character from the UNI2 season pass. She’ll be available to all players today, July 25. Uzuki was playable at publisher Arc System Works’ booth, where I got to try her out. She’s full of personality: in addition to having a variety of creepy normal attacks with range and power, she also has a bunch of tricks up her sleeve for special moves: throwing random items, a coffin full of chaos, and lots of skeletons. Expect more information on the next two DLC characters, Ogre and Izumi, later this year.
With more Evo events planned globally in the coming years, the hype isn’t going to stop and you can expect even more announcements and surprises to come with the competition.
