The fighting game genre has been red-hot over the last several years thanks to the release of a few notable hard-hitting titles. Street Fighter 6, Mortal Kombat 1, and Tekken 8 all had great launches while Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics was the perfect trip down memory lane. With a new year now upon us, the question on my mind is which fighting game will be the most talked about? Before we answer that question, let’s take a moment to highlight a few of the contenders.
The Returning Champions
Street Fighter 6, Mortal Kombat 1, and Tekken 8 are all getting some roster additions this year. Street Fighter fans can expect Mai Shiranui and Elena as part of the Year 2 Character Pass content. MK1’s remaining Kombat Pack 2 content will feature Conan the Barbarian, and T-1000. Clive Rosfield was announced last month as the final DLC character for the TEKKEN 8 Character Year 1 Pass.
It will be interesting to see what other updates and fighters will be announced for the next Street Fighter 6 and TEKKEN 8 Character Passes. Kombat Pack 3 is up in the air for Mortal Kombat 1 and may have already been scrapped due to low sales and lack of interest in Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is the first new entry in the Fatal Fury series in 26 years and the continuation of the Garou: Mark of the Wolves storyline. The 2.5D stylized fighter looks fantastic and introduces a new gameplay mechanic called the Rev system which allows players to execute powerful abilities. Wolves will have an arcade mode, single-player mode, and online multiplayer with rollback netcode and cross-platform play.
After playing a brief Summer Game Fest Play Days 2024 demo, I was very impressed with Fatal Fury: City of Wolves. The controls felt very slick and it was hard to put down the controller after my session. I look forward to seeing how the final product turns out when it drops on April 24th for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC.
2XKO
2XKO is a free-to-play 2v2 team-based fighting game developed by Riot Games. This unique title features League of Legends characters and emphasizes the need to strategize attacks for the most success.
League of Legends is a massive game with a huge audience. It will be very interesting to see if Riot’s decision to make a fighting game will pull even more intrigued players into the series.
Capcom Fighting Collection 2
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 includes 8 classic fighting games across various franchises including Capcom vs. SNK, Power Stone, and Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper. Fans of Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics can expect the same quality-of-life improvements to these games with online features for more people to play against each other.
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 should be another nostalgic treat for everyone who grew up playing these games. It also will reignite discussions about a third collection and a new Marvel vs. Capcom game for modern audiences.
Virtua Fighter 6
The return of Virtua Fighter was one of the biggest highlights from The Game Awards 2024. With Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O coming later this month to PC, it’s only a matter of time before Ryu Ga Gotoku reveals more details about the next entry in the series.
As of this writing, it’s unknown how far along Virtua Fighter 6 is in development but I can guarantee that we will learn more about it over the next several months. Once the development team starts showing us how they are moving the series forward that certainly will be an interesting discussion.
HUNTERxHUNTER NENxIMPACT
HUNTERxHUNTER NENxIMPACT is a 3v3 fighting game developed by Bushiroad Games and published by Arc System Works. This 2.5D fighting game has gameplay mechanics similar to the Capcom vs. crossover titles and the visuals also look good.
HUNTERxHUNTER was initially supposed to launch last year but was pushed to 2025. I look forward to learning more about the game when it drops later this year.
Our Prediction
After listing each title above, I believe it will be a tight race between Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and Virtua Fighter 6. While I have no idea if Virtua Fighter 6 will launch in 2025, I believe media and content creators will get hands-on preview opportunities later this year. This all depends on how far along the game is in development and I’m sure we will get more details on that sooner rather than later.
As for Fatal Fury: City of Wolves, I think there will be a lot of interest in seeing what SNK has done to push the series forward. Ryu Ga Gotaku fans will share this sentiment with a desire to see how Virtua Fighter 6 evolves too. Regardless of which game ultimately garners the most attention, there’s no doubt that it’s a great time to be a fighting game fan.
This concludes our article on which fighting game will dominate this year. Which game do you think will stand out the most among the rest? Let us know in the comments section below.
