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The fighting game community (FGC) has always been around for the diehards out there, a permanent part of the wider gaming world, albeit historically harder to spot. But the recent resurgence of fighting games has brought the genre back into the limelight and made it a part of the mainstream, including people who used to think that fighting games were just a niche thing relegated to quarter-powered arcade machines.
Capcom has been at the forefront of this renaissance of fighting games we’re witnessing today, and the last one as well. Back in 2008, the release of Street Fighter 4 brought a golden era of fighting games that was accompanied by Tekken 6, Marvel vs Capcom 3, and a handful of others. Coming to 2024, however, calling it a golden age would be cutting it short.
Genre definers like Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Mortal Kombat 1, and Guilty Gear Strive, among many others, have brought new hands onto arcade sticks like never before. Millions of players are currently enjoying the breadth of what fighting games have to offer, and there are millions more who are just getting into these games for the first time.
Fighting Fans Are Being Spoiled With New Content & Esports
All of these titles are constantly evolving in terms of content and getting better as time goes on. Street Fighter 6 just got Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and he is absolutely laden with nods and easter eggs. He isn’t alone in switching games, as Mai from the same game is also going to join Capcom’s mainline roster fairly soon.
Tekken 8 got Heihachi as a new playable character, who once again, decided to simply walk out of his grave completely ignoring the concept of death, and the fans aren’t complaining. This “unexpected” return has gotten fans thinking about how he is going to die this time.
Mortal Kombat 1 just got an expansion called Khaos Reigns that introduces some new features, including new story content, new arenas, and other gameplay improvements. Most importantly, Khaos Reigns brings in several new characters like Noob (AKA the number one gamer insult), Cyrax, and Sektor, each with fatalities that will kill opponents in new and entertaining ways. The expansion also includes multiplayer improvements, and will likely bring some players back and fix the waning popularity.
Most recently though, SNK has announced that in return for putting Terry and Mai in Street Fighter 6, Ken and Chun-Li are going to join the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves cast after the game comes out in early 2025. Better yet, the first year of characters is free, as the season 1 pass is included in the base price of the game.
A large part of the explosive success of the genre is the esports competitions that come with it. These titles are getting more entrants in tournaments like Evo and CEO than ever before. The high prize pools and international competition are what have garnered this newfound interest. And both Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 are hovering in the top 20 highest-selling games in the US almost every month.
Old Timers And New Comers Are Welcome Just the Same
Fighting games aren’t hitting their stride in terms of modern titles only, because remasters of some of the best fighters ever made are all over the place. Their announcements were so exciting that many of the FGC content creators started throwing up during trailers. This includes the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, Capcom Fighting Collection 2, and SvC Chaos. These don’t just confirm the interest in these timeless classics but also demonstrate the possibility of having sequels somewhere down the line.
The future of fighting games is looking great and with each announcement, it seems more likely with each announcement that games like Capcom vs SNK 3, Marvel vs Capcom 4, and maybe even the long-rumored Tekken X Street Fighter will become a reality sometime in the future. Another beacon of light that fans are seeing joining the FGC is Riot Games’ 2XKO which has opted for the free-to-play model and might take the team fighter crown that has remained vacant since the years of Marvel vs Capcom 3.
Regardless of how small the FGC used to be, the future of the genre is looking brighter than ever. Fighting games are an important part of the greater gaming culture, and as interest from the fans and the developers keeps aiming for new heights, there’s no way but up from here.
