Author: Ian "iantothemax" Walker

Although he was supposed to have stepped down from his position in January, Apex co-creator Johnathan “Alex Strife” Lugo is reportedly still very much involved with the popular tournament series, and may even resume business duties in the near future.

These details come courtesy of The Daily Dot’s Michael Hathaway, who was relayed this information by numerous sources close to the organization. According to his report, Apex’s internal plans aim to keep chief executive Cristin “Crismas” DeSaro on as their public face while Lugo works behind the scenes in a role geared more towards financial matters like sponsor relations.

Numerous accusations of harassment were leveled at Lugo a little over a week before Apex 2015’s doors were schedule to open, forcing the community to take a long look at the main heading up their largest annual tournament. A statement released shortly after his misconduct came to light mentioned that he would be “stepping down from his duties,” though his status as owner was left up in the air.

Despite this, Apex 2015 turned out to be a shining beacon of the Smash scene’s spirit. Venue issues forced a mad scramble to salvage the weekend’s events, but a last-second change of scenery gave the community two days of high-level competition they can all be proud of.

This news, however, could very well dismantle whatever good will was accrued during that event. In the event Lugo truly remains at Apex, community members will once again be forced to make a decision as to whether or not they should continue supporting the tournament series.

Source: The Daily Dot via Alex Jebailey

Just in case a prominent showing in the story trailer or word from a producer directly involved with the project wasn’t enough for you, we now have further confirmation that both Mileena and Johnny Cage will be playable in Mortal Kombat X.

This latest round of information comes courtesy of the title’s listing on Amazon, which includes renders for the two characters (included above) and partial pieces of background information alongside other cast members like Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Kotal Kahn.

So, yeah, it’s safe to say these veterans are part of the playable roster.

Mortal Kombat X is scheduled to launch for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on April 14.

Source: Amazon via Test Your Might

Like many other fighting game figures, Bandai Namco Games director Katsuhiro Harada frequently engages with fans on Twitter. While this connection to Tekken’s chief developer is awesome for the community, it can be an understandably frustrating task when you imagine the huge number of requests he must receive on a daily basis (especially if they’re less than polite).

It was a message like this that drove him to make a rather outrageous claim earlier today.

Upon being asked to include Lee Chaolan in Tekken 7, Harada jokingly stated that a future installment (set for release in 2020, apparently) will need to include at least 130 characters to satisfy the fanbase’s needs. Just as reference, the title with the largest cast is Tekken Tag Tournament 2 at 59 playable fighters.

That got me thinking–just how many characters has Bandai Namco actually introduced? Would it be able to meet this lofty goal? Luckily, finding this out proved to be rather easy.

Similar to other video games (as well as movies, television shows, etc.), the Tekken franchise has its very own version of Wikipedia, maintained and updated by folks who love its universe. According to this resource, a grand total of 107 people can be found throughout the series, taking into account alternate forms, background characters, and even fighters that have yet to be made playable, like the other candidates of the poll that saw narcoleptic vampire Eliza added to Tekken Revolution.

Though the total is probably off by a few cast members, that number leaves us with 23 spots to fill in this upcoming (and completely hypothetical) Tekken dream match. What’s two dozen new characters in a game that already includes over 100?

Sure, this is sort of a silly way to tackle this discussion, but it really drives home the fact that fighting game developers have an incredibly difficult time appeasing their fanbases whenever a new installment rolls around. While some could say this shows a bit of petulance on the part of the players, I like to think this is just a by-product of the amazing worlds the folks at Bandai Namco, Arc System Works, Capcom, NetherRealm Studios, Sega, and other studios have created over the years.

Let us know some of your most beloved characters from fighting game franchises past and present in the comments below.

Source: Katsuhiro Harada

Another major tournament means another installment of Michael “TSC|IFC Yipes” Mendoza’s Curleh Mustache invitational series, which is scheduled to make an appearance at Final Round 18 later this month. This time around, however, the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 competition will forgo one-on-one matchups and return to the team-based Battle Royale format.

While team compositions have yet to be decided, Mendoza recently shared the regions to whom he has offered spots in the bracket. Frequent finalists like New York City, Northern California, and Southern California will of course make appearances, but Curleh Mustache Battle Royale 5 will also see squads from Atlanta, Florida, and Texas as well as teams representing Control Gaming and BROKENTIER.

With two more teams to be decided, not to mention the ambiguous lineups of those listed above, there’s still a ton to speculate regarding how this event will turn out. Feel free to let us know what you think of the chosen group and what individual players may make them up in the comments below.

Source: IFC Yipes

Even thirteen years and some months of life later, Super Smash Bros. Melee chugs along in the competitive circuit, experiencing dips and rise but continuing to be played at a point in its life where other games would have fallen by the wayside. It’s latest resurgence has perhaps been the most miraculous, as it saw the title played by 1,037 players at Apex 2015 earlier this year, making that event the largest tournament Melee has had since launch.

For a time, at least.

Earlier today, Evolution co-founder Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar announced that this year’s event has once again earned that illustrious title for itself, surpassing even the lofty heights set by the Smash community’s most important gathering. While an exact figure wasn’t stated, we do know that Melee reached 1,000 entrants just last month.

But that’s not all; newcomer Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is also doing exceedingly well as far as registration numbers are concerned, passing up the 1,000 player milestone alongside its older sibling and perennial favorite Ultra Street Fighter IV.

Evo 2015 is scheduled for July 17-19. More information is available through the official website.

Source: Joey Cuellar