The Evolution Championship Series (or EVO for short) is one of the largest and longest-running fighting game tournaments in the world. While the event originated in Las Vegas, it has since expanded to a host of other countries – including Japan, the birthplace of fighting games itself.
EVO Japan 2025 recently took place from May 9 to 11, with thousands of players vying for a chance at the ¥15 million prize pool. In between matches, visitors were also treated to exclusive announcements from popular fighting game franchises. In case you missed it, we’ve rounded them up here:
1. Overwatch 2 x Street Fighter 6 Collab
Street Fighter 6 will be teaming up with Overwatch 2 for a new series of Street Fighter-inspired skins for eight beloved Overwatch characters, including Juno, Hanzo, Kiriko, Widowmaker, and more, set to be released this May 20. Check out our detailed write-up to learn more.
2. Galleon Joins Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Cygames showed off a full moveset trailer for the formidable earthen grappler Galleon, who will be available to play this May 28.
Galleon is part of the “Character Pass 2” DLC pack, which was first announced in July of 2024. The pass includes Sandalphon, who was released in February 2025; Galleon, releasing this May; Wilnas, releasing this summer; Meg, releasing this fall; and Ilsa, releasing early 2026.
3. Guilty Gear Strive’s Next DLC Character
Unika will be the next DLC character for Guilty Gear Strive’s fourth season, set to be released along with a larger update this May 27.
Arc System Works showed off a teaser trailer for the new character, though they kept it brief to avoid spoilers for the on-going Guilty Gear anime, Dual Rulers.
4. Tekken 8 Spring & Summer Roadmap
Tekken 8 unveiled a roadmap for the game’s spring and summer update schedule. Its version 2.01 update will drop on May 13, 2025, featuring the Tekken Ghost Showdown via the Tekken Fight Lounge, as well as two new cosmetics, the Cyber Phantom Pack and Vigilante Tech Pack.
Fast-forwarding to June 13, fans can look forward to a collaboration with the film Karate Kid: Legends, featuring a variety of cosmetics inspired by the film. A Pac-Man collab will also be released in summer of 2025, adding a new Pac-Man inspired stage, Pac-Man hit effects, and more Pac-Man-inspired cosmetics.
Finally, Fahkumram, last seen in Tekken 7, will be returning to Tekken 8 as the next DLC fighter for the Season 2 Character & Stage Pass.
BONUS: Virtua Fighter Direct
Now, this isn’t technically part of the EVO Japan announcement lineup, but Sega and RGG Studio did host a Virtua Fighter Direct on May 11, the last day of EVO Japan, so we’re including it here as a bonus feature.
The Direct briefly discussed the upcoming new Virtua Fighter game, describing it as a more narrative-focused experience that would update characters from previous games for the modern day, while still staying true to their core. Fans were shown a teaser trailer for one such returning character, Wolf Hawkfield.
Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. will also be getting a multi-platform release on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and the Nintendo Switch 2.
EVO’s next events will take place in Las Vegas and France, happening this August and October, respectively. More updates can be found over on their social media.