During EVO 2024, new information was announced about DLC and new characters coming for the various fighting titles present at the event. GBVSR had great success at this year’s Evo, but it seems to be just the beginning of this game’s journey as a community favorite. The beautiful yet terrifying Versusia was unveiled at the beginning of Evo, and was playable at the CyGames booth.
Another announced character, but not playable, is Vikila, whose bubbly personality and small stature contrast sharply with the chaos of Versusia. She will be available in October of this year and her gameplay style will almost certainly be revealed before her debut. Vikilia and Versusia complete the Season 1 character DLC, but a trailer for Season 2, along with a brief look at the beloved character Sandalphon, was enough to set the Evo arena buzzing with excitement for what awaits them.
Guilty Gear Strive continues to thrive as one of the most beloved fighting games around, and the grand finale of Evo this year was a perfect demonstration of why this game ignites so much passion in its players. These fans have a lot to look forward to in the near future, as the developer and publisher Arc System Works announced the full list of upcoming Season 4 character DLC for Guilty Gear Strive. Dizzy and Venom, long-time classic characters from the series, will return to the arena with a new look and, in Queen Dizzy’s case, a true royal title. Details are sparse on the new arrival, Unika, but she is a character that will have a prominent presence in the upcoming anime Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers.
However, perhaps the most surprising announcement was the first guest character from a completely different franchise in Guilty Gear Strive. Lucy from Cyberpunk Edgerunners will enter the arena next summer, and it will be interesting to see how she stands among the notoriously eclectic cast of Guilty Gear. Another arrival in GG Strive will be a 3 vs 3 battle mode. It is still in development, but you will be able to try the open beta of the mode on July 25th.
During the event, there was also the upcoming title Marvel vs Capcom 3, developed by Eighting and published by Arc System Works, based on the anime of the same name, which was playable and received warmly. Additionally, the opening movie and the character Merurem from Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact were also shown. The proud insectoid warrior was announced and was playable at the Arc System Works booth. The King of Fighters XV, the flagship fighting game franchise of SNK, had another excellent year at Evo with strong turnover across the country, and SNK is still working to keep the game fresh and exciting. It was announced that two beloved characters will return to the arena in December: the beautiful and deadly Vice and Mature.
There was a huge showcase for Fatal Fury: City of Wolves. A booth that offered game demos proved to be very popular throughout the weekend, and a showcase featuring the top players in the community demonstrated just how exciting and explosive it can be, even at this early stage of development. At the event, a new character was also revealed: Kevin Ryan and his young friend Marky return in the ongoing Fatal Fury story in their quest for justice. Speaking of crossovers, Capcom offered fans a glimpse of the look and gameplay style of Terry Bogard, the famous SNK fighter from Fatal Fury, in Street Fighter 6 just before the Top 6.
When you read this, you might already be playing as Lidia Sobieska in Tekken 8, which was prominently featured at the Bandai-Namco Tekken stations in the Evo hall. In a spectacular trailer, the Tekken Project team revealed the upcoming DLC for Heihachi Mishima, a man so powerful and impossible to kill that he has resurfaced once again to wreak havoc on his cursed lineage. Supporting Heihachi’s return from the flames of hell will be new single-player narrative DLC that adds the DLC fighters to the ongoing saga. The DLC will be free for all players.
Uzuki, the young girl with a hat and glasses, is the first character DLC for the seasonal pass of UNI2. She will be available on July 25th for all players. Uzuki was playable at the event at the Arc System Works booth, where we were able to try her out. The character is full of personality: in addition to having a series of grim, rage-filled normal attacks, she also has a variety of tricks up her sleeve for special moves, including a random item throw, a coffin full of chaos, and lots of skeletons. Expect more information on the next two character DLCs, Ogre and Izumi, throughout the year.
