A new golden age of fighting games may be upon us judging by the overwhelming scale of EVO 2023. EVO is the biggest fighting game competition in the world and near the top of the list for the biggest eSports events in general. It’s only getting bigger as EVO 2023’s 9,182 unique entrants mark the largest total in the competition’s storied history.
While amazing fights are the main course of each EVO event, it’s also become the platform fighting game developers use to make some of their biggest announcements of the year. EVO 2023 contained announcements for the recently released Street Fighter 6 and the upcoming Tekken 8 and Mortal Kombat 1, marking an exciting year for fighting games as a genre.
10 Yasuo Confirmed For Project L
Project L is one of the most anticipated fighting games, especially with its free-to-play model. The fighting game spinoff of League of Legends has steadily revealed more and more of what players should expect, including a look at actual tag-based gameplay. Project L was also playable at EVO 2023.
While Project L’s release is still a long way off, the developers revealed a seventh Champion, Yasuo, to go alongside Ahri, Darius, Ekko, Illaoi, Jinx, and Katarina. While Yasuo’s inclusion had been leaked days earlier, it’s exciting to see a full gameplay reveal as well as his playable appearance at EVO 2023.
9 Arc System Works Announces Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]
It feels like Arc System Works is constantly pumping out engaging and complex anime fighting games. It’s impressive they have enough time between their long catalog of active and upcoming games. Their newest game is a sequel to the vastly underrated and overlooked Under Night In-Birth.
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes] is the direct sequel to 2012’s Under Night In-Birth, which received numerous updates and revisions up until 2020. ArcSys showed off gameplay and some story elements as well as a host of characters. Under Night In-Birth II is slated for a 2024 release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
8 Duo Lon Revealed For The King Of Fighters XV As Well As A Najd Release Date
The King of Fighters XV is continuing its strong run as it approaches the end of its second season. Its latest character, Najd, is out now. The “Vigilante Vixen” makes her return from The King of Fighters XIV, once again appearing as a DLC character.
Joining Najd in Autumn 2023 is Duo Lon, who will be the second to last character for Season 2. Duo Leon skipped KoFXIV after being prominently featured throughout the “Tales of Ash” arc that preceded it. Duo Lon, “The Silent Assassin,” was a member of the Hero Team in The King of Fighters 2003 and one of the canonical winners of that tournament.
7 The King Of Fighters XIII Global Match Has A Release Date
While KoFXV is deservedly the center of attention in The King of Fighters franchise, KoF fans received exciting news earlier in 2023 as the beloved The King of Fighters XIII is set to receive an updated release in The King of Fighters XIII Global Match.
Heralded as one of the best KoF games, KoFXIII will mostly be unchanged for its Global Match mode. That includes keeping its infamously difficult trials, which even professional players struggle with. The big selling point of the Global Match revision is the long-awaited inclusion of rollback netcode. KoFXIIIGM will release on November 16, 2023 for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
6 Johnny And A Massive Season 3 Update Revealed For Guilty Gear Strive
With all the current fighting game attention on Street Fighter 6 and major upcoming titles, it can be easy to forget 2021’s biggest fighting game, Guilty Gear Strive, is still a major heavy hitter. Guilty Gear Strive is set to kick off its third season on August 24th with Johnny being announced as the first of four characters. Johnny, the free-spirited sky pirate captain, was one of the most requested characters to join the Guilty Gear Strive cast.
Johnny won’t be alone when he joins Guilty Gear Strive as a large-scale update will be coming with him. Beyond general balance, this season three update will include new special moves and a new offensive and defensive mechanic. The offensive mechanic is a universal lunge attack; the defensive mechanic is a universal shield, which can block any attack. Both mechanics cost 50% of the Burst Gauge, so players will need to use them wisely.
5 Street Fighter 6 Shows Off A.K.I. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Street Fighter 6 is one of the biggest games of 2023, and not just fighting games. SF6 has seen impressive sales and engagement from new players and returnees. Capcom is trying to keep that momentum going with the recent release of Rashid as well as new upcoming content.
The second character of SF6’s Year One pass is A.K.I., the former protege of Street Fighter V’s F.A.N.G. Like F.A.N.G., A.K.I. utilizes poison-based attacks. A.K.I. received a teaser trailer at EVO 2023 and is set to release in Autumn 2023. For a more immediate release, Capcom continued their crossover with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with costume parts for players’ World Tour and Battle Hub characters. As for costumes for the main cast, Capcom revealed Costume 3 designs for numerous characters. This includes the popular bride outfit for Marisa, as seen in World Tour’s artwork.
4 Raven And Azucena Revealed For Tekken 8
Tekken 8 continues its roster rollout with the returning Raven. After the agent’s popular debut in the iconic Tekken 5 and return in Tekken 6, Raven sat on the sidelines for Tekken 7 in favor of his superior Master Raven.
Joining Raven is the first new character revealed for Tekken 8, Azucena. Azucena is a Peruvian fighter who has an affinity for coffee. “Affinity” may be an understatement as much of Azucena’s personality comically revolves around coffee. As a fighter, Azucena’s gameplay features a lot of dodges, so many that it might remind Dragon Ball fans of Ultra Instinct.
3 The New Fatal Fury Game Has A Name
One of the highlights of last year’s EVO was the reveal that a new Fatal Fury was finally in the works after a nearly 25-year absence, the culmination of SNK’s revitalization as one of the major players in the fighting game world.
At EVO 2023, SNK revealed the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves name as well as the first look at character designs for Terry Bogard and Rock Howard. No gameplay was shown, but it’s clear City of the Wolves’ character models closely resemble KoFXV, but with a stylistic flare that has drawn comparisons to Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
2 Reptile, Ashrah, And Havik Return In Mortal Kombat 1
The next major fighting game due for release is Mortal Kombat 1, so, of course, NetherRealm Studios packed a few punches into Mortal Kombat 11’s competitive swansong.
Reptile, Ashrah, and Havik were all revealed for MK1. Ashrah and Havik excited fans of the 3D era of Mortal Kombat games while Reptile may have had the most exciting MK1 reveal to date. MK fans had wondered if Reptile would be in his human or reptile form if he had returned. NetherRealm’s answer was simply, “Yes.” Reptile can switch back and forth between his human and beast forms, which creates fascinating combo opportunities and gives the classic character the revolutionary adjustment fans were hoping for.
1 Killer Instinct Lives Thanks To A 10th Anniversary Update
Killer Instinct (2013) is one of the best fighting games of the past decade. Originally a free-to-play launch title for Xbox One, Killer Instinct (2013) boasted top-of-the-line rollback netcode as well as a fun roster, which included some Xbox crossovers like Halo’s Arbiter.
However, most Killer Instinct fans were resigned to the fact that Microsoft had little interest in returning to KI either for more content or a new entry. That changed at EVO 2023 when Microsoft revealed a major 10th Anniversary update for Killer Instinct (2013). This update, which is set to release in Autumn 2023, will overhaul the game’s balance as well as feature optimizations for Xbox Series X|S. For players interested in giving Killer Instinct (2013) a shot, it’s currently available on Xbox Game Pass.