Evo 2024 has come and gone, with another year of spectacular fighting game competition in the books. Across its eight main games and many,manyside tournaments and exhibitions, there was really no shortage of high-level fightin’ and scrappin’ to watch.
With all the streams and excitement, though, it might be easy to overlook some of the news announced over the course of the event. Who wasn’t distracted by Hayao’s3rd Strikerun, after all? So we’ve gathered all the fighting game news from the weekend in one convenient post, to peruse in the wake of another excellent Evo. Here’s every piece of fighting game news announced at Evo 2024.
Hunter x Hunter: Nen Impactadds Meruem, shows opening movie
The upcomingHunter x Hunterfighting gameNen Impactdidn’t just get one new character, but what looks like its entire base roster is confirmed. The Chimera Ant leader Meruem got the most spotlight, but there are a few more familiar faces sprinkled throughout the opening movie. Though a few notableHxHcharacters are missing, it looks like a solid roster to start.
Rivals 2adds Orcane, and is making the post-launch roster free
While platform-fighters walk a thin line between fighting games and being their own thing,Rivals of Aetherhas been an excellentSmashalternative to follow. Alongside confirming Orcane is making the jump toRivals 2when it launches in 2024, Aether Studios also confirmed all futureRivals 2characters will head to the game free-of-charge. Pretty rad! Speaking of platform-fighters…
Samurai Jack is coming toMultiVersus
Season 2 is on the way forMultiVersus, with Samurai Jack in the lead and Beetlejuice due later on. Warner Bros.’ multiversal multiplayer game has certainly had a rough go of things, but maybe a guaranteed crowd-pleaser like Jack can help tilt the narrative back in its favor. Samurai Jack arrives with Season 2 on July 23.
first look at skins in 2xko. dynasty ahri (wip) is coming to an alpha lab near upic.twitter.com/cDOpZIFTuP
Here’s what skins will look like in2XKO
Riot’sLeague of Legendsfighting game2XKOdidn’t share too much major news, as the team just recently revealed Braum and has its alpha coming up soon. For Evo 2024, though, the developers did show a brief look at the possibilities for skins in2XKOusing Ahri’s Dynasty fit. IfLoLis any indication, I definitely expect this game to have some cosmetic options when it fully launches next year.
The King of Fighters XVadds Vice and Mature
SNK had quite a bit of news to announce this weekend, starting with Vice and Mature joining theKOF XVroster in December 2024. It’s the addition of two known characters, but it’s nice to know Team Yagami fans can get the team back together.
Fatal Fury: COTWadds Kevin Rian to the line-up
The upcomingCity of the Wolvesalso announced Kevin Rian for the lineup. Still not too much to talk about here, but the nextFatal Furyis looking quite solid. I got to play some of it back at Summer Game Fest this year, and dug how it’s been coming along. Alongside the new trailer, we also gota quiet confirmationthat SNK is working on a newArt of Fightingand aSamurai Shodownaction RPG.
SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaosgets a re-release
Here’s the big surprise of the weekend from SNK:SVC Chaosis re-released for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam and GOG. It’s a bit more niche and not quite as beloved asCapcom vs. SNK, but it certainly throws some fuel on the fire for those wanting a re-release ofCvS, or even a new title.
Under Night In-Birth 2 Sys:Celesadds Uzuki this month
Back on the anime fighter side,Under Night In-Birth 2is continuing its character rollout with Uzuki, who’s going to be widely available not long after the conclusion of Evo 2024.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Risingconfirms a second year of content
ForGranblueplayers, Cygames confirmed an entire second year of content is coming toRising, with Versusia already locked in and more characters on the way. Plus, there are a host of feature updates and even story content planned. It was really rad to see theGranbluescene thriving in the early Sunday morning finals slot.
Guilty Gear Strivereveals four more fighters, including Lucy fromCyberpunk Edgerunners
While the surprise was dampened a bit by an early leak, it’s still crazy thatGuilty Gearis adding a guest character, and fromCyberpunk Edgerunners. That said, Lucy feels like a perfect pick, and I cannot wait to see what she plays like sometime next year. Meanwhile, a new character is also planned forStrive, alongside series favorites Dizzy and Venom.
Somehow, Heihachi returns toTekken
Remember how Heihachi got thrown into a volcano? Well, it’s the year of the dead fighting game villains returning; first Bison came back toStreet Fighter, and now Heihachi is returning as the third character inTekken 8‘s DLC roll-out. Expect him sometime after Lidia, who goes live this coming week. Some story DLC is also on the way too, which is a pretty notable addition forTekkenlore fans.
Mark your calendars.Here’s a look at what Evo has in store for 2025.pic.twitter.com/vPFaOQQeTf
Evo is adding a few new events
Since itsacquisition by Sony and RTS, Evo has been steadily expanding. It looks like that isn’t stopping, as Evo is planning four events next year: the Evo Awards in February, Evo Japan in May, the main Evo show next August, andEvo France in October. Organizer Rick “The Hadou” Thiher also teased a Singapore event for 2026. I love seeing the European scene, and France in particular, get the Evo spotlight like this.
Here’s a new look at Terry Bogard inStreet Fighter 6
After theconfirmation at SGF 2024, we knew SNK’s Terry was joining theStreet Fighter 6lineup this autumn. While Terry’s trailer at Evo 2024 didn’t necessarily contain any new information, we did get to see him in motion, and I think he looks pretty solid. No doubt he’ll be popular when he joins the roster this fall.
That’s everything for Evo 2024. A slightly more subdued year, without any major game reveals and a few known quantities, but certainly no shortage of new fighters entering their respective arenas. Plus, a surprise retro re-release that might put some hope in older fighting game fans’ hearts for more.
News or not, there were some fantastic finals, from an energetic3rd Strikebracket to incredible matches acrossGranblue,Tekken, and more. Here’s to one good year in the books, and another year of fighting games ahead.
