There is a new Marvel fighting game developed by Arc System Works in association with PlayStation Studios that becomes the new heart of the FGC as it became a successor of the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise. Let's jump right in.
This post is gonna give us news for fighting game fans. As we all know, fighting games were established when the original Street Fighter released in arcades. But there is one game that was announced during June's State of Play to make the FGC go wild. You see, as part of the FGC and a fighting game fan, I have been hunting for announcements for fighting games while watching tournaments. And when I watched the trailer of the game, the quality hit me real bad, so without further ado, let's dive into the post.
Marvel vs. Capcom has been the long line of tag team-based fighting games since the mid 90s. Though the previous two fighting games were all-Marvel, they were presented and developed by Capcom. After the release of Marvel Super Heroes, the franchise was established, starting with X-Men vs. Street Fighter. After Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, the next games point out to the Marvel vs. Capcom name when they replaced some of the X-Men and Street Fighter characters with characters from other IPs. After a decade, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was released and it's a starting point for the franchise's use of 3D models, along with the updated version and retained 3v3 battles from Marvel vs. Capcom 2. And finally, after five years, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite came after Disney decided to cancel their Disney Infinity series and switch to a licensing only model to license their characters to third party developers, including Capcom. But became a flop due to its UI and trimmed down roster.
For almost three decades, not counting compilations of retro titles, Marvel vs. Capcom was the heart of the FGC that they showcased Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for several earlier years at EVO, until it was crushed and landed into the hands of Arc System Works. They are the ones who led the way of developing tag team-based fighting games based on anime, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Hunter x Hunter: Nen Impact. And now, following the success of Dragon Ball FighterZ, ArcSys is developing their new Marvel fighting game in association with PlayStation Studios announced at State of Play, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. We've seen Marvel Comics in different genres of a puzzle, strategy RPG, card game, side scrolling beat 'em up and a hero shooter in a modern setting. Now it's going to the fighting game genre in a modern setting.
Watching the announcement trailer, I was blown away by the gameplay, graphics and the character designs and stage transitions from Guilty Gear Strive. I am shocked that the game is gonna be not 2v2, not 3v3, but a 4v4 tag based fighting game, which broken the boundaries of a tag-based fighter. It blew me away with the quality of this game they put into. Looking at the reactions, the announcement of a new Marvel fighting game became the hypest of them all that the gameplay trailer was met with widespread positivity. This is the first upcoming tag team fighter set to be critically acclaimed and release next year in 2026. But it's gonna be only on a Sony console since PlayStation Studios became a part of the project, as well as PC. Usually, we master multiple characters on our team, but in Marvel Tōkon, we can only master one character since the whole team can be in battle simultaneously.
But days later, Marvel Tōkon will not be the only tag team-based superhero fighting game that is coming out in 2026 because there is another tag based superhero fighting game announced at Xbox Games Showcase also coming out in 2026 and that is NOT developed by Arc System Works, and that is Invincible VS. This is a 3v3 tag based fighting game based on the critically acclaimed adult animated series on Amazon Prime and the superhero comic book and this marks the first ever M-rated tag team-based fighting game to have an M-rated Marvel vs. Capcom-style combat. The gameplay trailer dropped and the gameplay blew me away that it became very bloody. Plus, they have finishing moves that cause mutilation of body parts like Mortal Kombat X's Brutalities, but flashier.
The gameplay trailer also received widespread positivity, making it the second upcoming tag team-based fighting game to be met with widespread acclaim. However, because Invincible VS is the first ever M-rated tag team fighting game with and has extreme violence and strong language, it is only suitable for mature audiences, meaning no children under 17 are allowed to play this game. I am personally glad the ESRB was established because it shows parents that the games have mature content in it.
Marvel vs. Capcom has defined a tag-based fighting game genre that is known for tag team combat, air combos, assists and super gauges that come in multiple levels and follow-up supers. After the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, other companies were inspired to make their tag team-based fighting games with core mechanics Marvel vs. Capcom is known for without the involvement of Marvel characters. It pretty much went well with Skullgirls. Then Dragon Ball FighterZ came along to have 3v3 tag team battles. Then an upcoming free-to-play tag team-based fighting game 2XKO was announced to have 2v2 battles and a fuse. Hunter x Hunter: Nen Impact came to be 3v3 like Dragon Ball FighterZ. And finally, Invincible VS was announced and becomes an M-rated tag team-based fighting game with very bloody 3v3 tag team combat only for mature audiences.
The fighting game community has a bit of a competitive trope. Marvel vs. Capcom wasn't the only one that defines a genre because Smash was the first to craft a formula of gaming. The release of Smash Ultimate comes with other companies making their own crossover platform fighter that competes with Smash. I know that those of you who are jumping up to say "what about MultiVersus?" That can apply to that too.
MultiVersus was a free-to-play platform fighter known for its Warner Bros. characters. During Open Beta, it was well received. After launch, it became a failure due to the lack of player satisfaction caused by developers not listening to the players' feedback and prioritizing monetization over everything else. That led to the premature shutdown of the game and will never rise again due to the closure of the studio and Warner Bros' shift to bringing their collaborations to Fortnite and other games. The failure of what could've been a phenomenal platform fighter indicates that it became a lesson learned by the gaming industry so that they can make their games enjoyable, and also an issue with modern gaming.
When Marvel vs. Capcom 3 came out, they have been using the "Mahvel" and "It's Mahvel, Baybee" terms to commemorate of the franchise. Despite Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls being a tag team-based Marvel fighting game developed by Arc, the terms will still be used. ArcSys has been supporting Guilty Gear Strive for five seasons, which is why we hadn't heard from them about their new game for years. And we finally got word from them about their new fighting game, and that is Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls.
Plus, the game will have a large roster of characters. If they asked that who we would like to see in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, I say Thena from Eternals because she would be straight up dope and so would Emma Frost, who would be way sexier than Palamena from Visions of Mana that her thighs are so wide that they classified her as a Tank in Marvel Rivals. But people would like to see characters that are fun and can cater to the audience, like Squirrel Girl, Luna Snow, The Punisher, Ant Man and many others. But these are the characters I also like to see, though, considering that the game will have characters from the original Marvel Comics rather than the MCU like Marvel Rivals.
As I said above, Marvel Tōkon will become the new heart of the FGC after the old one was crushed by Infinite's lackluster reception that soured the relationship between Marvel and Capcom. The desire for a new Marvel fighter was beared for so long, and the desire was fulfilled by Arc System Works with the inception of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls as Capcom is pursuing Resident Evil Requiem and their new IP, Pragmata.
Interestingly, Marvel Tōkon and Invincible VS will not be the only tag based fighting games based on other media that we'll be waiting for because we're also waiting for 2XKO, which is coming out this year. It's possible that the devs of this game are making their next public stop at EVO 2025, which is around the corner and that where they will be making an announcement at the EVO Showcase, so we can look forward to that too.
But that's not all. Arc System Works is having their showcase this week where they will be announcing their updates on their new games and a mystery project in the works by Daisuke Ishiwatari. Maybe BBTAG 2?. We don't know if Marvel Tōkon will be involved in the showcase or not. The Arc System Works Showcase goes live June 26 at 6PM here and June 27 at 10AM there in Japan due to different time zones, so be sure to check it out to also find out what project Daisuke is working on.
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