EVO 2024 is over and it was one heck of a smorgasburg of really awesome matches. Congratulations to all of the winners and all those who made it to the most prestigious fighting gaming tournament in general. This was not only the biggest EVO ever but this also was the biggest esports event, with over 10,000 individual entrants!
Of course, while the main event of each EVO is and always be the tournaments and the matches, I would say the reveals and announcements come in a close second. If you make fighting games, this would be the place to be to show the fighting game community what you’ve been working on. So, let’s go see what were the most hype announcements and reveals this year.
If you really think about it, the fighting game community is one of the oldest competitive video game groups out there. While other competitive video game scenes have gotten bigger in a short span of time, the fighting game community has changed from being this niche scene to one that has become more mainstream. So, it does make sense to acknowledge those who have become pillars of the community and which is probably one of the main reasons why we are getting the EVO Awards next year.
While this was a pretty low-key announcement in the grand scheme of things, I do think the EVO Awards is a good thing and needs a little more attention. There have been so many notable players throughout the years, such as Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong, there are also some inspirational stories like BrolyLegs who do need special mention. So, yeah. This may not be a big deal for fighting games in general but is great news for the community.
#4 GranBlue Fantasy Versus: Rising: Versusia Gameplay, Nikala Reveal and Season 2 Announcement
I never really got into the GranBlue Fantasy Versus scene but I am happy the game is still doing very well ever since getting the Rising addition to its name. It does look like both Cygames and Arc System Works are serious on adding new content for the game as, not only did they reveal the next two characters, Versusia and Nikala. They did show off a little gameplay of Versusia during EVO and she does look scary, which is what a character trailer is supposed to be.
Strangely enough, the biggest reaction from the crowd didn’t come from the reveal of these characters but from the announcement GranBlue Fantasy Versus: Rising was getting a Season 2. In hindsight, the hype was for the hint of who the first character of Season 2 was going to be: Sandalphon. Now, I had to do some research to actually figure out who this is as I’m no GranBlue historian. But, judging from the cheers, he must be a big deal.
#3 SNK vs Capcom: SVC Chaos out right now!
SNK did have some big announcements at EVO this year. They’re still supporting the King of Fighters XV with them adding Orochi members Mature and Vice to the roster in December. They also revealed Kevin Rian for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and showed off what he can do. As big as these reveals were, nothing can ever beat a good shadow drop of a classic game. And this is what they did with SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos!
I have very vague memories of playing SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos in arcades. Those machines were hard to find because that game was released during the days when arcades were kind of dying. Still, I did remember having some fun with it, mostly because of how funky the roster was. Well, no one really expected SNK to re-release this game but they did exactly that during EVO! What makes it really enticing is how cheap it is at only $20 US!
#2 Guily Gear Strive‘s Season 4
Arc System Works must be working overtime with all of the games they keep producing content for. Not only are they working on the next season of GranBlue Fantasy Versus: Rising, they also have to add more stuff to Guilty Gear Strive! While I may have dropped off the game, I still love watching high level play and the wacky roster of fighters. Well, it looks like Guily Gear Strive fans will have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming Season 4!
You know there’s a lot to talk about when the lamest thing shown was that every character will be getting a new alternate color. But, honestly, even if I’m not playing Guilty Gear Strive, Season 4 looks lit! The game will practically be like Marvel vs Capcom 3 once they add the Teams of 3 mode! Also, fan favorite characters like Dizzy and Venom will be joining the roster in Season 4 as well as a brand new character in Unika!
But probably the most surprising new character has to be Lucy as she’s from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners! This is particularly refreshing as Lucy is not even from a video game but from an anime series! I’m really curious with how Arc System Works will translate the character into the game!
As good as the Guilty Gear Strive Season 4 announcement was, it still had no chance of beating…
#1 Heihachi Mishima returns to Tekken 8
Once again, rumors of his demise has been greatly exaggerated!
As good as the game is, it just feels weird to have a canonical Tekken entry and not have Heihachi Mishima. Despite everyone in the game and even Harada himself proclaim Heihachi Mishima is dead, he’s not and he’s joining the game soon! This was an unbelievable reveal for a couple of reason. One, seeing Heihachi back is always great as you can’t kill him off! Second, it actually showed off cutscenes involving the new DLC characters, meaning there’s probably going to be a continuation of the story mode!
The best part was the buildup to Heihachi Mishima’s reveal. It’s been drilled into our heads he was not returning. So, even though we did see the Tekken monks do the Electric Wind God Fist across burning coals and the Dragon Uppercut to get across a chasm, you still could not believe it was him. Then you hear the unmistakable booming voice of the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu and… you still doubted it! Then, when you see him finally come out of the volcano and proclaim it was indeed him, that’s only when you really believed Heihachi Mishima was back! Great reveal!
What was the biggest announcement/reveal during EVO this year in your opinion? Let me know in the comments section below!
3rd World Geeks 