Fighting game enthusiasts were once again able to gather in Las Vegas for Evo 2022, the largest fighting game tournament in the world. Although Evo was canceled back in 2020 and shifed to an online-only format the following year, the return to the live venue of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino carried high expectations for fans traveling across the globe to attend. These expectations extended to the announcements at the venue as the Evolution Championship Series has grown from just a tournament to a celebration of the fighting game genre.

What would become Evo got its start as an arcade-based tournament in the mid-90s known as the Battle by the Bay. Battle by the Bay eventually became Evo as it slowly grew from a series of tournaments held in an arcade to an international event within a large-scale venue. This expansion seemed to be punctuated by PlayStation's purchase of Evo in 2021, and with Sony's first live Evo, the first day of the event was loaded with developer panels, interviews, and announcements.

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In the first-ever Evo Showcase, developers held panels to talk about their respective games as well as prepare announcements and teases for their titles. The Grand Finals housed the biggest announcements on the show floor as fighting game developers saved some of the biggest announcements for when their titles would be in the brightest spotlight. The last few years of Evo held some of the fighting game genre's biggest stories, and with the Evo 2022 crowd recharged with the first live event in three years, fighting game developers brought their best to the table.

The Biggest Fighting Game Announcements From Evo 2022

Evolution Championship Series
Evo wallpaper with logo.

Developers and producers from across the industry came to Evo 2022 to announce their newest releases, updates, and teasers for either upcoming or currently released title. A list of some of Evo's biggest announcements is as follows:

  • Tekken: The franchise's latest project was briefly teased.
  • Street Fighter 6: Newcomer Kimberly and returning favorite Juri Han were announced for the upcoming game's roster, joining Ryu, Chun-Li, Jamie, Luke, and Guile.
  • Guilty Gear -Strive-: Fan favorite Bridget was announced to return to the Guilty Gear roster after missing the previous game.
  • Skullgirls: An exhibition was played showcasing the next DLC character Black Dahlia, and a teaser confirmed Marie as the final character for the game's first season of DLC.
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ: A PS5 and Xbox Series X version of the game was announced, with rollback netcode being confirmed as part of the upgrade.
  • The King of Fighters 15: The release of Team Awakened Orochi was announced for the day after Evo. Also announced was the confirmation of Team Samurai - Haohmaru, Nakoruru, and Darli Dagger from Samurai Shodown - for the Fall of 2022, Season 2 beginning in 2023 with two returning characters (Shingo Yabuki and Kim Kaphwan) confirmed, and crossplay capabilities to be added to the game in 2023.
  • Samurai Shodown: As the first major update the title has received in a year and a half, Samurai Shodown was announced to receive a rollback netcode update in the Spring of 2023.
  • Fatal Fury: Fans hoping to see a Garou sequel had their request fulfilled as a new title in the series was announced to have been green-lit.

Evo 2022 was filled with an amazing slate of tournaments and many announcements that lived up to the expectations of its return to live events. Fighting game developers made their presence known in the announcement of new titles, updates to existing titles, and the latest progress on upcoming titles. As the world's largest fighting game tournament continues to grow, Evo 2022 may stand as the blueprint for the future of the event and an example for future Evo tournaments to come.