Category: Fighting Games

Arc System Works has just announced the date for which BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle’s free DLC character Yang Xiao Long, as well as its 2nd and 3rd DLC character packs will drop: June 19.

Yang Xiao Long is one of the two free DLC characters from Rooster Teeth’s RWBY web-series. The other one, Blake Belladona, arrived alongside the game’s first batch of DLC characters, namely BlazBlue’s Platinum The Trinity, Under Night In-Birth’s Orie, and Persona 4 Arena’s Kanji Tatsumi.

At the same time that Yang becomes available, the game’s 2nd and 3rd DLC character packs will also become available for purchase and download. DLC pack #2 comes with Persona 4 Arena’s Aigis, BlazBlue’s Jubei, and Under Night In-Birth’s Carmine. DLC pack #3 on the other hand comes with Persona 4 Arena’s Naoto Shirogane, BlazBlue’s Hakumen, and Under Night In-Birth‘s Vatista.

Both DLC packs will retail for ¥600, or $4.99 each.

Source: Siliconera

Warner Bros. Games has just shared a tweet counting down to an impending reveal at 10:00 AM PT on June 7. Now, while there wasn’t anything specific to any game of franchise in the tweet, signs seem to be pointing to this possible being a new Mortal Kombat game.

For those following social media related to Mortal Kombat and NetherRealm Studios, there has been some speculation for a while regarding a new entry in the storied franchise. This is all down to a couple of “clues” that fans have been pointing to. First, WB Games and NRS’s last fighting game, Injustice 2, has already received a “Legendary Edition” — it’s final, complete version of the game with all DLC characters added in. Second, the companies have always revealed their newest fighter the week after E3, once the prior “complete” version has been released.

With all the above taken into consideration, anticipation for a new Mortal Kombat (or a new fighter from NetherRealm in general) is at a fever pitch. Will we finally see the long awaited sequel to Mortal Kombat X, will we see a new fighting IP from NetherRealm, or is this speculation all for nought? We’ll find out when the announcement stream goes live at WB games’ official site!

Source: WB Games

Evo and Cygames join forces for this year’s event!

Evo 2018, the world’s largest fighting game tournament, now has new sponsor; Cygames, producers of the Shadowverse digital card game, have already entered the FGC through Cygames Beast, Daigo Umehara’s team of Street Fighter V competitors. The Japanese developer is now increasing its support for fighting games even more by announcing its official sponsorship of Evo 2018!

As part of this new sponsorship, Cygames plans to provide a booth at Evo 2018 to showcase Cygames Beast, as well as highlight their Shadowverse game — including a “be a card” photobooth for attendees.

“For Japanese gamers no event is held in higher esteem than Evo, so naturally we are ecstatic to be a part of the 2018 event,” said Cygames Executive Director Yuito Kimura. “It is a true honor to support not just Cygames Beast, but the entire fighting game community, and we look forward to a long and rich relationship.”

“We are thrilled to partner up with Cygames for Evo 2018,” said Director of Global Business Development, Mark “MarkMan” Julio. “The Cygames brand across their products and their Cygames Beast gaming team are synonymous with quality and care. We’re excited to have new layers of support for players, the community, and the overall event from such a prestigious company.”

Evo 2018 is coming to the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on August 3-5. Registration is still open!

Sources: Evo; Cygames [press release]

Canada Cup and EGLX team up for 2018.

In a surprise venue switch, Canada Cup 2018 has moved from its originally-announced Toronto Airport Hilton location to partner with EGLX — the Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo — and set up at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto instead.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR CANADA CUP 2018. This year we will be collaborating with @EGLXofficial and will be at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. We will still have 24/h Gaming venues at the hotel with tons of setups and even arcade Cabinets. Discount hotels coming soon. pic.twitter.com/3GJpl1aos5

— Lap Chi Duong smash.gg/cc2018 (@lapchiduong) June 5, 2018

The dates for the event (October 26-28) are unchanged. Additional features of the partnership with the gaming convention have yet to be revealed — while 24-hour gaming is still promised to be available at the new yet-unannounced event hotel.

Canada Cup 2018 is the perennial last Premier event on the Capcom Pro Tour before the Capcom Cup finale, aside from regional finals. It always hosts a wide selection of events, which this year includes the “Fight for the Future” Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Tournament Series event for Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Registration is open over on smash.gg. Eager attendees that have already booked accommodations are encouraged to contact organizer Lap Chi Duong if they experience problems making changes to their bookings.

Source: Lap Chi Duong (Twitter)

The in-development perma-flying PC fighter Gravity Breakers has recently been updated to version 0.3. Along with the several system and balancing changes in this update, this indie sci-fi project has implemented its latest character: the alien drone Gerzil.

Gerzil has previously been seen showcased at the weekly SoCal fighting game competition Wednesday Night Fights, as well as through Gremlin’s Twitch and social media channels.

The developers shared some info on Gerzil’s battle design, and the new elements she brings to the cast:

Gerzil’s fighting style is savage and bloody, revolving around her ripping claws and retractable spikes. She is the first character with a grab-type special move: Monster Clutch. This move is still WIP but the final version will drain life from the opponent like a vampire. From a distance Gerzil fires webs, spikes, and insects. 

Grappling archetypes tend to be hearty tanks, but interestingly, it seems Gerzil only gets her additional health through her grappling. This justifies her ability to be a little more mobile and versatile — appropriate for the projectile-centered battlefield of Gravity Breakers.

You can read the full list of balance changes — and purchase the early-access version of the game — through Gremlin_Ent’s site. For more information on the game itself, make sure to visit gravitybreakers.com.

Source: gremlin_ent

The potential for more fates to cross in Arc System Work’s latest fighting game seems infinite. Toshimichi Mori, the game’s producer and director, has expressed interest in adding even more franchises into BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. One of those franchises seems to be Nier: Automata, a game he likes very much.

Forbes caught up with Mori in an interview post-release of the game (Forbes interviewed Mori two years ago, where he mentioned that he likes RWBY, which facilitated the collaboration with Rooster Teeth). The new interview talks about switching from Unreal Engine 3 to 4, which seems to be more visually-focused.

But RWBY fans will be happy to hear that Mori “would love to” see additional characters from that franchise in BBTAG, particularly Penny and Adam. Mori is conflicted however over developing something that fans want versus realizing his own vision. When asked about what he has been playing lately, he named Nier: Automata, and also said the following:

“Hey, we should release 2B and 9S on BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. Yeah, that would be good. I would want to play that. Should I ask them? Haha.”

Yoko Taro, are you listening?

For more on BBTAG, check out our BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle review.

Source: Forbes