Fighting games making the translation to a strictly online-only competitive environment has resulted in a mixed bag of gameplay experiences. Placing players in scenarios inherently dependent on solid, unproblematic netcode has shone a light on which fighting game franchise is doing its best to make online play the best it can be. Outside of online infrastructure, many of the premier fighting games are reaching the twilight of each game's lifecycle, like Street Fighter 5 and Tekken 7. Others are preparing for launch like Guilty Gear Strive and King of Fighters 15. Altogether, fighting games are mostly in a good spot adapting to the quarantined competitive scene.
Organized by representatives from most of the biggest fighting game franchises of all time, the second Japan Fighting Game Publisher Roundtable brought updates for nearly every active mainstream fighting game in the genre. Not only that, but in the leadup to new releases, character unveilings and additional info continue to ramp up hype for each respective release. Arika (Fighting EX Layer), Arc System Works (Guilty Gear), SNK (King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown), Bandai Namco (Tekken), and Capcom (Street Fighter) were all part of the roundtable discussion and reveals. Here's everything announced and revealed from the Roundtable.
Discussions on the Pandemic, Netcode, and More
The beginning portion of the Roundtable focused on discussions of quarantine, and the difficulty associated with a wholly online competitive environment for fighting games. Bandai Namco and Katsuhiro Harada in particular discussed improvements made to online infrastructure in relation to Tekken 7. Aside from rollback netcode, which was introduced in the game's fourth season, the developer also encouraged the usage of ethernet/LAN in online play to increase stability. Bandai Namco also introduced a Wi-Fi indicator, something Arc System Works' Guilty Gear Strive will also be implementing, that shows when players are not hardwired online.
In terms of other games, many developers highlighted the importance and benefits of rollback netcode, a relatively new innovation that significantly improves online play. Rollback netcode is designed to reduce latency by basically syncing two games together, and not relying on input transmission from either player to continue a match. Basically, that means if a short but significant delay in internet traffic is detected, the game will basically re-sync players while showing very minimal lag on screen because the rollback process works frame-by-frame. Basically every developer, with the exception of SNK, discussed rollback netcode implementation in future fighting titles.
New Mechanics and Character Trailers Galore
Other than the nitty-gritty of online play, all developers had plenty to share regarding new characters and info for all games. Bandai Namco and Tekken 7 were the first to show off a new teaser trailer, hinting at the next DLC character being a fictional prime minister of Poland, with a full-length trailer coming soon. Arika showed off a new version of Fighting EX Layer, titled Another Dash, coming to Nintendo Switch and other platforms. The enhanced version will feature new EX mechanics that provide a variety of different reversal techniques to turn the tide of battle. Fighting EX Layer: Another Dash will also be implementing a new version of rollback netcode.
SNK had plenty to show off for Samurai Shodown and the upcoming King of Fighters 15, which is set to release at some point in 2021. For Samurai Shodown, Cham Cham was announced as the next DLC character coming to the game, with hints of a Guilty Gear character being the last DLC character joining the roster as well. On the King of Fighters side, the next character reveal trailer for King of Fighters revealed Chizuru Kagura, marking the third character in Team Sacred Treasures. Kagura hadn't appeared in a King of Fighters game since King of Fighters 2003, leading to speculation on who could be next.
Lastly, Arc System Works and Capcom had plenty of reveals lined up. Guilty Gear Strive unveiled the final base roster character, I-No, rounding out the roster of 15 total characters. Additionally, Arc System Works announced a 3v3 Arc Charity Cup team tournament for Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 for next month. As for Capcom, there was a wealth of announcements for Street Fighter 5 in the leadup to its final content season. Capcom expanded on how the new V-Shift mechanic will function in Street Fighter 5, and how it will change the gameplay on all characters and the meta. Fighting game fans have a surprising amount of content to look forward to in 2021.