The pandemic has led to a shift in fighting games. Demand for better online came into focus and began spreading among hardcore players, which saw a shift in some companies’ online policies. Older fighting games likeKiller InstinctandSkullgirlsstarted to get resurences, andSkullgirlsis even getting new content. AsSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s support came to an end, the stage is set for new crossover platform fighters to take its spot. The EVO tournament series was bought by Sony, and some of its founders are working on aLeague of Legendsfighting game. Even genre giantsMortal Kombat 11andStreet Fighter 5got longer support than their developers planned.
Even though offline competition is still a gray area, the future looks bright, and the FGC won’t have to wait very long to live it. Next year seems prepared to be the culmination of everything that fighting games have been working toward, with a number of exciting releases that have rollback and more primed to launch. That’s not getting into the expected or ongoing fan and indie projects. AssumingCOVID doesn’t delay anything, 2022 should be the best year fighting games have had in a long time.
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Major Fighting Games Releasing in 2022
A wave of betas and announcements hit the fighting game community in the past couple of months.The secondKing of Fighters 15open betaran on the same weekend thatDNF Duelhad a beta, alongside the reveals of rollback netcode, mechanics, and release date.KoF15is due out in a couple of months, andDNF Duelwill be released in summer 2022. Going with open betas was the right move for both of these games, as they already have people clamoring for more.The King of Fighters 15has been declared a return to form by longtime fans, andDNF Dueloffers more madness then the average modern fighter thanks to the efforts ofMarvel vs. Capcom 3developer Eighting.
Those are far from the only fighting games coming out in 2022, andDNF Duelisn’t the only one coming from Arc System Works. Atlus has decided to re-release ASW’sPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxon modern hardware, to the surprise of many. It’s not clear if there will be any netcode changes, but the game will be updated to its previously arcade-exclusive final patch. A couple of other games expected to come out in 2022 includeRumbleverse, the arena-fighter battle royalefrom Iron Galaxy and Epic Games; andMultiVersus, a platform fighter collecting the many properties Warner Bros. owns. These are big-name titles, but they represent more than just exciting collaborations.
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The Impact of 2022 Trends on Fighting Games
RumbleverseandMultiVersusintend to make big strides.Rumbleverseis not the first melee-focused battle royale, but it is the most concerned with emulating a fighting game. To that end, it’s the hope of Iron Galaxy and Epic thatRumbleversewill bring together fighting game and battle royale audiences. There’s a good chance that theKiller Instinctveterans at Iron Galaxy hope some of its success can trickle back down to the regular fighting game community.
Meanwhile,MultiVersusis rising to replace theopening left bySuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. Sporting a free-to-play model akin to the wildly successfulBrawlhalla, it’s clear no expense was spared in setting this game up for success. These two titles, along with Riot’sProject Lfighting game - whenever it comes out - should bring new success to the fighting game genre that has struggled to build up wider communities.
Next year may also crystallize rollback netcode as a permanent fixture in fighting games. Fans of the wider genre have been waiting for this push for a long time. Aside from the unknown that isPersona 4 Arena, every fighting game announced to be coming out soon will use rollback netcode. Evenolder titles likeBlazBlue: CentralfictionandBlazBlue: Cross Tag Battleare getting rollback updates in early 2022. This should extend to the next titles released by genre leaders Capcom and Bandai Namco, as the online landscape of fighters is getting more competitive.
Potentially Massive Fighting Game Events Could Come in 2022
Even with all of the confirmed happenings of 2022 and their impact, there’s still more hype in the FGC for things that could happen.Street Fighter 6has been rumored for a while, and was supposedly rebooted after negative focus tests. Now thatStreet Fighter 5has finished adding new content, everyone is looking at Capcom Cup 8 in February for the long-awaited announcement.Street Fighter 5improved its reputation among players in its last two seasons, but those who dropped off years ago would really like to see a new Capcom fighting game.
The sheer potential of 2022 isn’t limited to unreleased games, either.Dragon Ball FighterZandGranblue Fantasy Versusare continuing to get new content, withGranblueadopting a new pricing model.DBFZ’s development was officially over, so the sudden announcement of Android 21 (Lab Coat) as a new character has the community buzzing with questions. Also abuzz are the competitive scenes forSuper Smash Bros. UltimateandMelee, which are receiving their first official tournament circuit courtesy of acollaboration between Panda Global and Nintendo. This is unprecedented behavior from Nintendo, especially consideringMeleeis part of this series.
Even if all of the releases and potential that 2022 offers are not to someone’s liking, they may still be interested to hear that rollback netcode is being developed for a Nintendo Switch emulator. That would bring delay-based Switch games into the rollback revolution sweeping the emulated arcade, Dreamcast, and retro console scenes. A lot of good for fighting games happened in 2021, and 2022 looks even brighter.
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