It's a good time to be a fighting game fan. With titles from all manner of franchises and gameplay styles releasing, getting updates, and pushing to improve the genre's netcode, it feels like a time of revival. Street Fighter and Tekken have new games on the horizon, which could draw in a new generation of classic fighting game fans. Business and competition are both booming, and aside from Super Smash Bros. e-sports potentially taking a backseat for a while, the rising tide is lifting every boat.

It helps that there's a lot to look forward to in the future. Whereas the first couple years of the 2020s have been a time of reflection for fighting games, the years following it look to be ones of synthesis and growth. There are plenty of new fighters and video game releases to look forward to in 2023, and that's not even getting into what could come afterwards.

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2023 May Play Host to Two Fighting Game Kings

When one talks about 2023 fighting game releases, there's one game that's practically a given. Even though its release date hasn't been nailed down yet, fans are all but certain that Street Fighter 6 is coming out next year. With one successful beta down and another running in the middle of December, Street Fighter 6 has reassembled the SF community after years spent enduring Street Fighter 5’s assorted struggles. Thanks to its new Drive System, a revamped cast, and the sheer number of features available, Street Fighter 6 is the number one fighting game on the community's radar. When it drops, it has the potential to change the fighting game space.

It might not come alone, either. No one is entirely sure when Tekken 8 is going to release, with the couple trailers seen so far only showing a bit of regular gameplay. Still, some rumors have pointed towards a 2023 release date, and the game is expected to have a major trailer at the 2022 Game Awards. Considering how long Tekken 7 has gone without regular support, Tekken 8 might have been in active development for several years. There is every chance that it could launch next year with the improved netcode fans have been begging for, and whatever else Bandai Namco wishes to add to its premier fighting game franchise.

There’s Plenty of Fighting Game Action Coming in 2023

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Those two games releasing in the same year would be more than enough to qualify 2023 as a hallmark year in fighting games, but there's even more coming. Guilty Gear Strive and The King of Fighters 15 will both continue their second DLC seasons, and other titles like DNF Duel and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R will be working through season passes of their own. New titles like Fraymakers, a platform fighter by the Super Smash Flash developers, will dot the year. MultiVersus could leave open beta, and Rumbleverse will continue expanding its horizons as a battle royale arena fighter. Even Dragon Ball FighterZ is expected to get a next-gen re-release with rollback netcode in 2023.

2023 in fighting games is going to be so strong that it could keep that title even while missing out on some big names. The project that NetherRealm Studios is working on will seemingly go undisclosed for the rest of 2022, and there's no telling when it will be revealed or launched. Riot's League of Legends fighter Project L, which also got a development update recently, may be even more likely to miss 2023. While the game is improving with every showing, extending development can only improve it even more. Despite that, with the hype generated by Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and all of their genre peers, there is no doubt that 2023 is going to be a great time for fighting games.

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