After a mis-step which unwittingly spilled the beans on their game line up, EVO officially revealed the 8 titles which will be gracing the main stage at the “Super Bowl” of fighting games. Held at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the weekend of August 1st to the 3rd, thousands of players will flock to Sin City in hopes of creating their very own EVO moments. As far as the games which prospective players can make their mark in, the list is presented below.
- SNK’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves – 1st appearance at Evo
- Cygames’ Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising – 2nd appearance at Evo
- Arc System Works’ Guilty Gear -Strive- – 4th appearance at Evo
- Capcom’s Marvel vs Capcom 2 – throwback tournament
- Warner Bros. Games’ Mortal Kombat 1 – 2nd appearance at Evo
- Capcom’s Street Fighter 6 – 3rd appearance at Evo
- Bandai Namco Entertainment’s TEKKEN 8 – 2nd appearance at Evo
- Arc System Works’ Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes – 2nd appearance at Evo
So the shifts from last year’s line up is the swap of SNK’s King of Fighter XV for their latest release Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves and Street Fighter 3rd ceding it’s spot for Marvel vs Capcom 2. For those who didn’t see their game on the list fret not, as the tournament will be hosting official tournaments for Rivals of Aether 2, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O., Killer Instinct with more to be announced at the EVO Awards.
Despite moving to a larger venue, there was plenty of pushback as to how seating was handled on the final day of the event. The team at EVO took in the feedback and has made changes which hopefully will make the experience better for everyone. These changes include making tickets for the final day a separate ticket like previous EVOs, a larger arena with more seating as well as watch areas in the convention center space.
Finally fans of fast casual tex mex can rejoice as Chipotle has returned as a partner for EVO 2025 meaning players who make it out of the pools for various titles will likely get a Chipotle gift card as proof of their survival as well as developer showcases and events sponsored by the food chain during the course of the weekend.
While registration for players have yet to be revealed, spectators can buy their passes for EVO 2025 on February 15th. Having experienced it in person last year, I certainly hope I can do it again when August rolls around.