Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls
Developer(s)	Arc System Works
Publisher(s)	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director(s)	Kazuto Sekine
Producer(s)	Takeshi Yamanaka Reed Baird Kazuma Kizuka Sakaya Utsunomiya
Designer(s)	Kazuto Sekine
Platform(s)	PlayStation 5 Windows
Release	2026
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is an upcoming fighting game developed by Arc System Works and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Featuring characters appearing in Marvel Comics publications, the game is premised on a 4v4 system that accomodates a setup with one primary fighter and three assist characters, and a more traditional active tag mechanic iterating on the traditional 2v2 and 3v3 setups that were popularized by previous Marvel fighting games. Stages will also encompass multiple areas that are seamlessly transitioned between if match conditions such as combos and hard knockbacks are initiated.

SIE's interest in creating a new first-party fighting game led them to approach Marvel Games following their successful collaboration on the Marvel's Spider-Man series by Insomniac Games. Sony in turn approached Arc System Works to the develop the title with Marvel's approval. Development began with the goal of incorporating a system that was approachable for newcomers to the genre, but with a depth that satisified the game's potential for competitive play. The game's roster accomodates Arc System Works' variety of gameplay archetypes, comprising major Marvel characters and obscure selections that haven't appeared in previous Marvel fighting games. The game was officially announced in June 2025. Fighting Souls is the first new Marvel-based fighting game since Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (2017).

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5 and Windows in 2026.

Gameplay

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is a 2.5D fighting game in which players compete against each other in tag team combat using an ensemble of Marvel Comics characters. Players must knock out all opponents on the opposing team through repeated attacks which drain their associated health bar. Iterating on other tag fighters and previous Marvel-based fighting games such as the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise, Fighting Souls employs a first ever 4v4 system which allows the player to alternate between a setup of one primary character and three assist fighters who can be called in for additional offense, or an active tag system enabling for all four characters to be cycled between mid-match. Every character will have Normal, Special and Unique attacks that respectively scale in damage, drawing on abilities featured in the comic books, as well as a cinematic Ultimate Skill.

Like previous Arc System Works titles such as Dragon Ball FighterZ (2018) and Guilty Gear Strive (2021), Fighting Souls features stages that encompass multiple distinct areas with visual iconography drawn from the Marvel Universe, accompanied by stage transitions that take place when a combo or high-damaging move is initiated in the corner of the arena, similar to the "Wall Break" mechanic featured in Strive.

Playable characters

• Captain America (Steve Rogers)
• Doctor Doom
• Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes)
• Iron Man
• Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)
• Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
• Star-Lord
• Storm

Development

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) had expressed interest in developing a first-party fighting game for its library, having already made efforts to support the genre in other capacities through their co-ownership of Evolution Championship Series (EVO) and promotion of third-party titles such as Capcom's Street Fighter 6 (2023) and Bandai Namco Entertainment's Tekken 8 (2024). This prompted producer Reed Baird from SIE's XDev team to pitch a such a project to Marvel Games. SIE proposed a tag team fighting game, aware that Marvel held a prior reputation as a major presence in the subgenre due to their past partnership with Capcom on the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Marvel had similarly fostered a successful working relationship with SIE due to their collaboration on the Marvel's Spider-Man series developed by Insomniac Games, which led them to reciprocate enthusiastically towards the idea according to Marvel Games' senior Product Development Manager Michael Francisco Jr. A representative from SIE met with Arc System Works producer Takeshi Yamanaka to present the concept and entice them to develop the game, a decision Marvel similarly approved due to their prior experience in tag-based fighting games such as BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and Dragon Ball FighterZ (both 2018).

Arc System Works began production with the goal of making a fighting game that was more accessible to a wider audience, including accomodations for simplified and traditional inputs, as well as character skills that are common amongst the whole roster. Lead battle designer Kazuto Sekine explained that despite internal deliberations about making a traditional 1v1 fighter or adhering to the 3v3 format of other tag-based games, they opted for a 4v4 system out of a desire to capture the intensity of multiple on-screen characters in combat, emphasizing the unique team-ups and crossing over of Marvel characters. With regards to the roster, Yamanaka stated that the team developed a criteria around fighter selection, wishing to include characters considered the 'faces of Marvel' while also leaving room for more obscure picks that had never appeared in prior Marvel-based fighting games.

Presentation

According to Baird, the development of Fighting Souls was motivated by the PlayStation Studios XDev team's mantra of "From Japan to the World", alluding to a desire of bringing the work and inspirations of Japanese developers to a global platform. Yamanaka stated that while their original intention was for the aesthetics of the game to evoke the look of a Western comic book, they were encouraged by Marvel to lean further into a style distinct to their previous titles such as the Guilty Gear series, leading to an art direction more rooted in anime. This was reflected in creative decisions that emphasized the immersion of Marvel characters in a Japanese pop cultural backdrop, such as Iron Man's armor drawing inspiration from mecha anime, and Captain America's voice lines being directed to sound triumphant and expressive, akin to a shōnen protagonist.

Release

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls was announced during Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play presentation on June 4, 2025, accompanied by a developer documentary featuring interviews from various staff at SIE's XDev team, Arc System Works and Marvel Games. Fighting Souls is the first Marvel-based fighting game since Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (2017), and the first on consoles to not be developed by Capcom themselves since Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (2005).

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is scheduled to release as a console exclusive for PlayStation 5 and Windows in 2026.

Reception

Pre-release reactions

The announcement of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls was met with shock from the fighting game community, both towards the development and publishing involvement of Arc System Works and Sony Interactive Entertainment, as well as of a new Marvel fighting game without the involvement of Capcom, the developers of the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise. Multiple comparisons were favorably drawn between Capcom's games and Fighting Souls, with particular attention drawn towards the presence of launchers, assist characters and aerial combos, as well as the involvement of 4v4 fights, considered a direct iteration of the 3v3 setup popularized by the Marvel vs. Capcom games. Commentators also highlighted the game's resemblance to Arc System Works' prior licensed game Dragon Ball FighterZ (2018), previously praised for its refinement of tag fighting mechanics and adherence to its franchise's source material in a similar fashion. The game's inclusions of Storm and Doctor Doom as playable fighters marks the first appearances of characters associated with the X-Men and Fantastic Four since their absence from Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (2017), which was barred from featuring such properties due to Marvel's ongoing disputes with 20th Century Studios, which held the respective film rights to the characters until Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, leading to wide praise and speculation about further representation from such comics.

External links

• Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls at Marvel
• Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls at PlayStation