EVO 2023 is right around the corner and just in time, too. The Super Bowl of fighting games will definitely have a lot of good action with this year being extremely hype. We all know the matches are going to be insane but another thing to look forward to, like with every EVO, are the announcements for upcoming content and DLC. It does look like we are experiencing another fighting game renaissance with Street Fighter 6 kicking things off and a slew of new fighting games, like Tekken 8 and Mortal Kombat 1, about to be released on the horizon. So you can bet there are going to be some announcements for these, and more, during the event.

There is a lot of speculation as to what they’re going to announce and I am no different. I like to try to look into the future and give my predictions of what are going to be the biggest announcements at EVO 2023.

#1 Trailers and release dates for AKI and Ed for Street Fighter 6

Capcom already released Street Fighter 6 to rave reviews but they do have to keep the hype train going. Announcing that Rashid, who will be released just ten days just before EVO, will be tournament legal definitely ruffled a lot of pro player’s feathers but it’ll just make the game even more exciting… hopefully. I just hope we won’t see a slew of Rashid players in Top 8.

But that was the only surprise involving Rashid as we all knew he was going to be put in the game as Capcom already revealed their upcoming DLC characters for the first season of Street Fighter 6. We all know we’re going to get AKI, Ed and Akuma later on in the season. We already got a trailer announcing their upcoming arrival in the game.

Well, it only makes sense to show AKI as she’s slated to be released next. It’s pretty much a no-brainer to show off her moveset and how she’ll play as EVO is going to be the biggest fighting game tournament of the year. However, I do believe Capcom will show more than AKI as, like I mentioned, this is the biggest fighting game tournament of the year. So, I’m predicting that they’ll not only show AKI but a brief glimpse of Ed as well. I really think Ed will be interesting as he already kind of used Modern controls when he came out in Street Fighter V! But they will show how his special moves are used as well in the trailer.

#2 Gameplay footage of Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2 after the King of Fighters XV DLC characters trailer

As of right now, the only real fighting game SNK has out in the market is King of Fighters XV. They’ve slowly been adding characters to that game’s roster, with the upcoming Najd, being the last known character shown off. SNK still has a couple of characters, one male and female, still slated to be released for this season’s DLC package. It only seems natural for them to show off who they’re going to be. My predictions are Oswald and May Lee, just in case you’re asking

However, while that’s going to be hype, SNK will have another trailer shown just after the reveal because, last year, they already announced that they were in the middle of making a sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves! They announced it way back in EVO 2022 but, since then, all they’ve shown us is key art. Nothing more.

Well, that’s all going to change in EVO 2023! I’m predicting they’ll show us some actual gameplay for the upcoming Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2 just so we get something to sink our teeth into and placate our hunger for more info for the moment. It won’t be a long trailer but we’ll get glimpses of all the main characters in action as well as a quick eyecatch of the new main villain of the game. Hopefully, it does continue where the first game left off and we see what happened with Kain.

#3 Tekken 8 will show off their first new character

Right now, Tekken 8 is shaping up really nicely. Some players recently got their hands on the game for beta testing and it does look really good. However, I will admit there’s something wrong with the game’s current roster. The beta does have 16 characters playable but they’re all returning characters. Tekken 8 has yet to have a new character entering the battle.

Well, I’m predicting that’s going to change at EVO 2023. I can just see Harada going up on stage and proudly revealing the newest Tekken 8 character to the EVO audience. Now, if the fans will be accepting of this new character is going to be another story. Lucky Chloe, anyone?

#4 Almost full roster reveal for Project L… and an actual name!

I am far from the biggest fan of League of Legends. Heck, it’s the only thing that’s really keeping me from watching Arcade on Netflix, despite almost every review saying you don’t need to know anything about League of Legends to enjoy and figure out what’s happening. Despite this, I am very curious about Project L, the very first League of Legends fighting game. Riot Games did allow some pro players to get some hands on time with the build to test out all of the mechanics and, boy, are there a lot!

It’s been announced that Riot Games will have a demo build available at EVO to, hopefully, get a ton of feedback on how good or bad the game plays. However, I don’t think that’s all they have in store at EVO. I’m predicting they’ll finally reveal the game’s official name. What? Did you think Project L was its official name? It just doesn’t have any fighting game flavor! So, Riot Games will finally stop calling it by its code name and start calling Project L by… whatever they decide. Like I said, I’m not a League of Legends fan so I have no idea what would be a catchy name for a fighting game set in its universe.

Finally, they will also show off other characters who are going to be playable in Project L or whatever they’re going to be calling it. League of Legends has a very deep roster and they’ve been hard at work on this fighting game for a couple of years now. I think it’s about time they show the other champions who are going to be made into fighting game characters at EVO.

#5 A new Marvel fighting game by Capcom

Who would ever think we would ever see a Marvel Vs. Capcom not only showing up at this year’s EVO but actually making it to the main stage? Well, it’s happening and to the delight of the thousands of fans asking when’s Mahvel? It’s the biggest surprise and no one saw it coming. It literally brought some in the fighting game community to tears.

However, I don’t believe EVO is putting a game that’s now more than two decades old just because the fans love the game. It might be part of the reason but not the whole story. No, and I know this is the most far-off prediction in the list, which is why I’m putting this last. I have the sneaking suspicion Capcom is going to announce a new Marvel fighting game.

It might seem outlandish because of the abject failure of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. However, that was the “old” Capcom, the company that was okay with putting out half finished games like Street Fighter V and, well, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. They were a company happy to coast on their previous successes and not put any money into making the best product. This “new” Capcom is the company that made Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4 Remake and Street Fighter 6. I can see Disney having the confidence that they can do really well with the project. And with the love fans have shown Marvel vs. Capcom 3 based on EVO 2023’s registration numbers for this decades old game, well, Disney would be crazy to miss out on this.

What are your predictions when it comes to what’s going to be announced at this year’s EVO? Let me know in the comments section below!