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The tournaments may be over but there’s still more fighting games to look forward to on the horizon.
Evo Japan 2026 was one hell of an event but with every Evo there’s always some super exciting fighting game news just waiting to be announced. And the Land of the Rising Sun didn’t fail to deliver on that front.
Both niche and mainstream fighting games got some love in Evo Japan 2026 and here are the ones that stood out the most.
Melty Blood: Twi-Lumina
The poster boy of niche anime fighting games just announced that it’s getting a big update in 2027. And honestly, it’s a welcome surprise considering the legacy of the series. Melty Blood: Type Lumina released in 2021 to mixed reactions as its gameplay deviated from its predecessor. However, it managed to capture an audience through regular updates and its incredibly generous offering of DLC characters being completely free to the game.
Twi-Lumina seems to be more than just a simple balance patch as its promising new characters, gameplay updates, and a rebalancing of the entire cast. It’ll be interesting to see just how much farther this series will go. Hopefully its support from its developers will remain as generous as before.
Tekken 8 – Kunimitsu
Tekken 8 seems to be turning things around ever so slightly and Evo Japan 2026 was proof of that. Hype matches with a nice variety of characters made for one the best top eight’s in the event.
And to close it off, we finally got a peek at Season 3’s first DLC character, Kunimitsu. The high-flying ninja is looking to be even more of a menace than before thanks to her adding some new tricks, and weapons, up her sleeve. She’s releasing on May 28 so it won’t be long before she’s back to terrorizing the cast once again.
The King of Fighters XV 2026 Update
Even with Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves out, developers SNK still haven’t forgotten about good ol’ KoF XV. The game is getting a massive update ahead of the 2026 SNK World Championship and that’s quite an ordeal considering there’s 61 characters in the roster.
In a similar vein to Melty Blood, it’s nice to see developers support their older games. KoF XV’s playerbase were already quite satisfied with the game but now this update has got them talking again. Could this be a sign for more substantial updates and DLC characters in future? This update is set to drop in July so we’ll see what comes after that.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls – The Fighting Avengers
Evo Japan 2026 saved the best announcement for last as Marvel Tokon revealed one more team in its roster. And while it’s no surprise that the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are making an appearance, it’s the composition of the team that’s got everyone talking.
Many were sure that Thor would make it but it turns out that the Hulk is taking his place. Accompanying him is Black Panther but this time it’s T’Challa’s sister, Shuri, taking up the mantle. It seems that Marvel Tokon is continuing its trend of applying their own twists to these established heroes and we can’t wait to see what else they have in store.
Banner image from Bandai Namco Entertainment America.