After choosing the best games of 2024, it’s finally time to look forward. Most major fighting game franchises are not set to receive new entries in 2025, so it could very well be a bit of an off-year for the genre. Having said that, there are still some interesting releases in the schedule. Not only will beloved franchises from CAPCOM and SNK finally make their return, but Riot will also make its debut in the fighting game space with its League of Legends fighting game, which has the chance to shake up the fighting game scene considerably, especially if its free-to-play approach proves to be successful.
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves (April 21st – PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S)
The Fatal Fury series is one that should need no introduction for real fighting game aficionados, having been, for quite a few years, one of the top 2D fighting game series besides Street Fighter. Despite its popularity, however, the series has been left dormant since the release of 1999’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves, but the series’ absence from the fighting games’ main stage, however, is about to end with the release of FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves this year.
The new entry in the series, which will feature a total of 22 characters for its first season, including both familiar faces and newcomers, will evolve the series’ mechanics further with the introduction of the REV system that will offer unique offensive and defensive options. Following in the footsteps of the latest entries in other franchises like the Street Fighter and Tekken series, FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves will also feature a simplified Smart Style control scheme that will let players perform special moves and combos using only single button presses and directional inputs. With the help of this new accessibility feature in place, there’s no doubt that FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves will stand out as one of the most popular fighting games of 2025.
2XKO (TBA 2025 – PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S)
Originally announced in 2019 as Project L, Riot Games’ fighting game set in the League of Legends universe has the potential to revolutionize the fighting game scene. With a proven track record of creating compelling multiplayer experiences with lasting appeal, Riot now has the chance to demonstrate its expertise in a genre that has historically been challenging to master.
Even if we don’t take Riot Games’ multiplayer games expertise into account, 2XKO will have plenty to offer to fans of traditional 2D fighters. Developed by Radiant Entertainment, the studio founded by Tom and Tony Cannon, two respected figures in the fighting game community for having launched Evo and created the rollback netcode that powers the vast majority of modern fighting games’ online features, there’s little doubt that the strategic team play approach to the tag fighter formula made popular by the MARVEL vs. CAPCOM series, the simplified control scheme, the varied character roster which will feature some of the most popular League of Legends champions and the faithful recreation of their signature special moves will deliver one of the best fighting games of the year, if not of the entire generation.
CAPCOM Fighting Collection 2 (2025 – PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Last year, CAPCOM brought back the MARVEL vs CAPCOM series with a new collection, but the Japanese publisher is not yet done bringing back some of its most beloved franchises. This year will see the return of another series that has long been considered one of the benchmarks for 2D fighting games: the CAPCOM vs SNK franchise.
Besides including the two main entries in the franchise mentioned above, the CAPCOM Fighting Collection 2 will bring back other series that haven’t seen a new entry in a very long time, such as the Power Stone and Rival Schools series. Rounding up this collection is the inclusion of Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein and CAPCOM Fighting Evolution, as well as rollback netcode support, which should breathe new life into these all-time classics. Hopefully, this won’t be the last time we will hear and see more of them.
Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact (Summer 2025 – PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch)
Anyone who has had the pleasure of reading Hunter x Hunter or watching the anime knows how the series created by Toshihiro Nagoshi was ripe for a fighting game based on it. The wait has been long for such a game to be released, but it is finally almost over.
Despite not being part of CAPCOM’s Versus series, Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact will feel familiar right from the get-go to fans of Tatsunoko vs. CAPCOM and Ultimate MARVEL vs. CAPCOM 3, as the game is being developed by the same studio, Eighting. The combination of mechanics lifted from these two games, such as assist attacks, Advancing Guard, the X-Factor-like temporary power-up called Overgear, and the character roster, which includes some if the most popular characters in the series, such as Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, Hisoka, Chrollo, Meruem, Kite and others, will make for an explosive fighting game that has the potential to appeal even to those who are not into Hunter x Hunter.
BLEACH Rebirth of Souls (March 21 – PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S)
Much like Dragon Ball, plenty of fighting games based on Tite Kubo’s Bleach have been released on consoles in the past. None of them, however, managed to reach the high level of quality of games like Dragon Ball FighterZ and Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO, but this is set to change this year with the release of BLEACH Rebirth of Souls.
The first proper game based on the series to hit PC promises to be an extremely faithful adaptation of the intense battles of the manga and anime show, as Ichigo, Rukia, and every other playable character will be able to decide the outcome of a battle with a single strike after building up enough power. With a combat system that will let players take advantage of 3D movement, take the fight into the air, and unleash all sorts of special techniques, BLEACH Rebirth of Souls shouldn’t disappoint those eagerly anticipating a fighting game that can finally give justice to Tite Kubo’s popular series.
Community Poll
Cast your vote to establish Wccftech Community’s most anticipated fighting game of this year.
Honorable Mentions
2025 will see the release of other notable fighting games besides the five games above. Here are a few other fighting games releasing in the next 12 months that are worthy of being mentioned.
- The Hidden Ones
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2
- Big Boy Boxing
- Half Sword
