Sega Reveals New Virtua Fighter Gameplay Footage

Summary

• Sega has released new in-engine footage of the upcoming Virtua Fighter game.
• This will be the franchise's first entry in about 20 years.
• The game's development will be handled by Sega's own Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.

Sega has unveiled new footage showcasing the proposed look and feel of its latest in-development installment in the Virtua Fighter franchise. This marks the first new entry in the series in nearly two decades, as the brand has been largely dormant, releasing only remasters of its last wholly new title, Virtua Fighter 5.

The last major Virtua Fighter release was Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, which launched for PlayStation 4 and Japanese arcades in 2021 and was a remaster of a previous update. Ultimate Showdown is set to arrive on Steam in January 2025, ahead of the new entry in the series.

Unveiled at NVIDIA's keynote speech at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show, the short video starts with a brief transitional scene before quickly transitioning into a simulated combat experience. The staged nature of the footage is evident due to its impeccable choreography, resembling a sequence from a Sammo Hung film rather than a recorded bout in a fighting game. With other major fighting franchises having released games recently, the return of Virtua Fighter could solidify the 2020s as a banner decade for fighting games.

New Virtua Fighter Footage Highlights Evolving Visuals

The showcased clip, while not featuring actual gameplay, utilizes in-engine graphics, providing fans with a glimpse into the potential visual style of the finished game. The video shows Virtua Fighter moving away from its hyper-stylized characters and polygonal origins towards a visual realism that lies between Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6. The trailer features the franchise's iconic character, Akira, shown in two different outfits, neither of which include his classic bandanna and spiky hair.

The development of the new Virtua Fighter game is being handled by Sega's own Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, which is also working on Sega's announced Project Century. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio co-developed the Virtua Fighter 5 remaster alongside Sega AM2 and is best known for its work on the Yakuza series, starting with Yakuza 5.

Aside from comments from Virtua Fighter project director Riichirou Yamada about the direction Sega is aiming for with the game, little is known about the new title other than it being a completely new entry in the series. Despite the obscurity, Sega seems committed to revitalizing the Virtua Fighter brand, as evidenced by their continued glimpses of the upcoming game. As Sega President and COO Shuji Utsumi stated in the VF Direct 2024 livestream, "Virtua Fighter is finally back!"