EVO 2025 brought a wave of high-profile announcements and reveals across nearly every major fighting game franchise. From long-awaited character comebacks to crossover surprises and major content updates, here’s everything that happened during the event.
Street Fighter 6
Capcom revealed a teaser for C. Viper, the next DLC character arriving in Street Fighter 6. While no gameplay footage was shown, the teaser confirmed her appearance in the single-player World Tour mode. A fan-favorite since Street Fighter IV, C. Viper was notably missing from SFV, making this a long-anticipated return. She is scheduled for release in Fall 2025.
Capcom also unveiled Outfit 4, a swimsuit-themed costume set launching on August 5, 2025. The characters receiving these new outfits include Cammy, Chun-Li, Luke, Jamie, A.K.I., Kimberly, and Manon. These will be available as paid DLC.
Tekken 8
Bandai Namco showcased Armor King in a new gameplay trailer, confirming his arrival on October 16, 2025. In addition, a brand-new original fighter, Miary Zo, was announced. Miary hails from Madagascar and brings a unique style to the roster. She will arrive later in 2025 alongside a new stage.
Guilty Gear -Strive-
Arc System Works revealed the final guest character from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners—Lucy—in a gameplay trailer. She’s set to release on August 21, 2025. A major version 2.00 update is also in development for 2026, with teasing hints toward the return of classic characters such as Robo-Ky and Jam Kuradoberi.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Wilnas was announced as the next playable character, set to arrive on August 5, 2025. Alongside Wilnas, the game will introduce “EX” versions of existing characters, each with alternate move sets and adjusted playstyles, expanding the game’s competitive possibilities.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Fatal Fury fans were greeted with a surprise: Ken Masters is now officially playable. The long-rumored guest fighter from Street Fighter made his debut at EVO and is immediately available for download.
Hunter × Hunter: Nen × Impact
Season Pass 1 was officially announced, with Neferpitou confirmed as the first DLC character, launching in Fall 2025. Teased silhouettes strongly suggest Phinks, Shizuku, and Zeno Zoldyck will also join the roster over time.
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]
French Bread debuted a new character, Izumi, with full trailer footage shown during EVO. She will be available on August 18 for most platforms, with a Nintendo Switch release following on August 20.
Virtua Fighter
The latest trailer for Virtua Fighter 6 gave fans a first look at Akira and newcomer Stella Bryant. Additionally, the updated version of Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O is getting a World Stage expansion, which adds new single-player content, next-gen support, and makes Dural a playable character.
Other Highlights
- Capcom Fighting Collection 2 will receive a free update on August 7, featuring balance changes and new characters for Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper.
- Invincible VS dropped a cryptic teaser for Omni-Man, confirming his arrival in a future update.
- Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls will begin a closed beta on PS5, running from September 5 to 7.
Food for Thought
From returning veterans like Armor King and C. Viper to crossover surprises like Lucy and Ken Masters, EVO 2025 proved once again that fighting games are anything but stagnant. With most content arriving between August and the fall, players have a packed few months ahead.
