Goku, Vegeta, and Frieza will be clashing yet again in Bandai's newest Dragon Ball game, Dragon Ball Fighters, expected for release next year. The announcement comes just prior to Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2017. The game will be developed by Arc System Works, the gaming company credited with creating 2D arcade fighting game franchises BlazBlue and Guilty Gear.

Dragon Ball Fighters will utilize a 2.5D animation style, which differs in some areas from other games developed by Arc System Works. According to producer Tomoko Hiroki, this style will give the game a broader range of expression for the purpose of shifting camera angles and other functions that would not be possible in a 2D style.

With a set-up of three-versus-three matches, the game will feature "ultra-high speed battles" and "flashy special moves," all in classic Dragon Ball fashion. Not much is known of the game's roster of playable characters, but Bandai's press release did include screenshots featuring Goku, Vegeta, Majin Buu, Frieza, and Cell.

Arc System Works have developed Dragon Ball games in the past, such as Dragon Ball Supersonic Warriors and Dragon Ball Extreme Butoden, but these were produced in 2D because they were developed specifically for handheld systems like the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo 3DS. This will be Arc System Works' first Dragon Ball game to release on major consoles.

This game will look and feel remarkably different from the last major Dragon Ball game, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, which was released in the fall of 2016. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (as well as its predecessor) is a 3rd person fighting game with 3D graphics and a huge emphasis on online play. In fact, most Dragon Ball console titles in recent years have been 3D fighters, making this game a big deviation from what fans generally expect from Dragon Ball games.

It should be taken into consideration that the press release for the game's announcement is dated June 12, which could mean that Bandai Namco accidentally shared it prior to its intended release. It's also possible that Dragon Ball Fighters may not be its official name, which means that it could be translated differently for its Europe and North America releases. Fans expect that Bandai Namco will officially announce the game at E3.

The only other upcoming Dragon Ball title is the Nintendo Switch version of Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2.

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Dragon Ball Fighters is expected to release worldwide in 2018 for the Playstation 4, Xbox One, and the PC.

Source: Bandai Namco (via Gematsu)