Preventing recreation followers have so much to be enthusiastic about this 12 months, with the primary recreation lineup for each Evo Vegas and Evo Japan rising to 12 video games, up from the normal eight. Nevertheless, there are two iconic preventing recreation franchises lacking that will come as a shock.
With Evo occasions persevering with to interrupt attendance information as preventing video games develop more and more in style 12 months over 12 months, rising the dimensions of the primary occasion has been a very long time coming.
Whereas there have at all times been community-run aspect brackets for smaller video games individuals are obsessed with, the primary stage being restricted to eight video games has made it troublesome for video games outdoors of main franchises to get recognition.
Evo 2025 is correcting that, however it’s additionally leaving out two main franchises in favor of letting new blood in. And, in each circumstances, the omissions are indicative of a pivotal turning level in each collection: Mortal Kombat and Marvel.
Evo Japan & Evo Vegas 2026 lineups introduced
Conserving in vogue with 2025’s transition towards supporting older preventing video games, 2026’s occasions in Japan and the U.S. each have some retro video games making a comeback for the primary time in many years.
First up is Japan:
Mainstays like Avenue Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and Responsible Gear: Try and the newly-released 2XKO are right here, however Japan can be bringing again some classics. Each Vampire Savior and the Fist of the North Star preventing recreation are over 20 years outdated at this level, however they’re getting a bit of the pie.
Additionally, Melty Blood: Sort Lumina and Below Evening In-Start [Sys:Celes] provides underdog preventing recreation developer French Bread 2 essential stage reps, an enormous win for a developer that’s been attempting to interrupt into the mainstream because the late 90s.
In the meantime, the Vegas recreation lineup has some large variations:
KoF 15, Melty Blood, and FotNS are out in favor of Rivals of Aether 2, BlazBlue: Central Fiction, and Invincible VS. Invincible VS doesn’t even have an official launch date but, however we not less than realize it’ll be out earlier than Evo Vegas 2026.
The absence of Marvel has a twin that means right here. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was the retro choice from 2025, and evidently Vampire Savior has taken its place. This leaves the door open for MvC2 or MvC3 to return sooner or later, though it could be some time.
But it surely additionally signifies that Marvel TOKON: Preventing Souls gained’t be out for some time but, not less than not till the later half of 2026.
Mortal Kombat, in the meantime, is in a troublesome spot. It had decrease attendance than most area of interest preventing video games at main occasions regardless of promoting thousands and thousands of copies, with aggressive curiosity within the recreation rapidly falling off a cliff. Contemplating Mortal Kombat 1 was launched in September 2023, its match lifespan was remarkably brief.
And, with Netflix making a transfer to accumulate Warner Bros., it’s unclear what the way forward for the collection (or NetherRealm as a studio) might be.
Whereas this record-breaking Evo lineup is nice information for followers, it’s additionally indicative of the truth that, to ensure that the FGC to evolve, some video games must get left behind.
