PlayStation Studios, Arc System Works, and Marvel Games today revealed a brand-new tag fighting game set in the Marvel universe, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls.
It’s been a long time since we’ve last seen a fighting game focused on Marvel characters. The last, Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, launched in 2017 to average reviews, and we’ve not heard anything since. However, that all changed today with the announcement of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, a brand new fighting game franchise with reimagined characters, a unique art style, intuitive gameplay, and a unique hook. Fighting Souls isn’t just an ordinary tag-team fighter, it’s a 4v4 tag-team fighter.
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Marvel like you haven’t seen before
A great fighting game needs a great roster, and Fighting Souls intends on delivering. So far, the game features Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, Storm, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord, and Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes), all of whom have been reimagined with an Arc twist.
Arc Producer, Takeshi Yamanaka, states, “There are so many amazing Marvel characters that it was quite a struggle to choose our roster, but we did have some criteria for the selection process. First and foremost, we wanted to include characters who we feel to be the ‘face’ of Marvel. At the same time, we also needed to select characters that would give us a balance of battle types and styles. Lastly, we wanted to sprinkle in a few surprises and leave room for characters who have never been playable in a fighting game before.”
In terms of gameplay, Fighting Souls will feature a unique 4v4 tag-system where players bring in four characters at a time. Characters will have their own set of Normal, Special, and Unique attacks that are inspired by their abilities and powers, but with twists that feel wholly unique.
“Team VS fighting games have a long tradition of 2v2 or 3v3 team formats, so this is something we discussed in-depth within the development team,” explains Game Director and Lead Battle Designer, Kazuto Sekine. “We went back and forth many times, from thinking we might be better off making a 1v1 game or sticking to the established 3v3 format. At its core, we felt that the appeal of team VS fighting games is the intensity of battles with multiple characters on screen at once. Additionally, one of the appeals of Marvel comics is seeing the vast cast of characters coming together to create all kinds of unique team-ups. With these two ideas in mind, we concluded that creating a 4v4 team VS system would be the best way to not only create those over-the-top moments, but to further evolve the tag fighting genre.”
This is only the beginning
Today’s announcement is just the first in the road ahead for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. Arc has already confirmed that they’ll have a lot more to share as we march ever closer towards launch. This includes new character reveals, stages, gameplay modes, and the online experience.
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is a brand new fighting game franchise with reimagined characters, a unique art style, intuitive gameplay, and a unique hook.
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls launches sometime in 2026 on PS5 and PC.
