We’re in the middle of a fighting game renaissance under the current generation of video game consoles (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and on PC). “Street Fighter 6” and “Mortal Kombat 1” released in 2023, while “Tekken 8” and “Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO” have released in 2024, and we’re awaiting “Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves” in early 2025. So it was only a matter of time before fighting game fans asked: “When is there going to be a new version of SEGA’s classic series “Virtua Fighter?”.
Speculation began last year at the Game Awards, when SEGA revealed they were working on new versions of dormant series like “Jet Set Radio”, “Shinobi”, “Golden Axe” and others, so a new version of “Virtua Fighter” sounded plausible. And then our hopes seemed confirmed, when SEGA executive Justin Scarpone just earlier this month teased in an interview with video game news outlet “VGC” that a new Virtua Fighter was on the way. These hopes were dashed on Friday, with the announcement that SEGA is re-releasing “Virtua Fighter 5” (now titled “Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.”). Yes, the latest numbered version of the franchise, which was originally released in arcades back in 2006, is back again.
The game is still a classic, but it’s been re-released several times. There were revised versions brought to arcades in 2008 and 2010, with the game then being released on home consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) in 2012. The game was then released again as “Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown” on PlayStation 4 in 2021 (making it backwards compatible on the PS5).
Still, in spite of it being a re-release, this does appear to be the best version released to date. The game features rollback netcode (resulting in smoother online gameplay), improved 4K high-res textures, and a re-balancing of game mechanics. It’s also coming to Steam, making it the first time the series has been released on PC.
Here’s the trailer (in all of it’s cheesy karaoke – and yet kickass – glory):
SEGA has confirmed that owners of the PlayStation 4 version will find the game receives a patch syncing it up with the upgrades for the PC version. No release date has been confirmed yet for this upcoming “REVO” version, outside of SEGA stating it’s coming “this winter”, so it’s anticipated to debut in early 2025.
Stay tuned for further updates on any and all fighting games, including the eternal hope for an eventual reveal of “Virtua Fighter 6”.
