Next Virtua Fighter Project is Being Made to be Worthy of a Game of the Year Nomination – Producer

So, I’ve been following the development of Next Virtua Fighter Project and things seem to be moving along nicely at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios. The producer, Riichiro Yamada, recently talked about their plans for the game, and it sounds like they’re not just aiming for another typical fighting game. They really want to do something different and break out of the usual fighting game formula, which is awesome to hear!

Yamada explained that with Next Virtua Fighter Project – their first venture into the series – the studio is striving for a Game of the Year award. To achieve this, they want a wide audience to play the game, so they’re making sure it’s easy to learn and enjoy.

Yamada stated their team is striving to create a Game of the Year contender. They aim for a game that, much like the original Virtua Fighter, transcends typical fighting game boundaries and offers something truly unique.

Fighting games often feel complicated and are usually for dedicated players. But Virtua Fighter is different – it’s simple to learn and play, which is one of the things that makes it so good.

This indicates the studio is meticulously crafting the game, aiming to make it accessible and enjoyable for a wide range of players.

He explained that a game needs broad appeal to even be nominated for Game of the Year. That’s why their goal for New Virtua Fighter is to create a game that’s truly deserving of that recognition.

So, I was reading about the new Virtua Fighter project, and Yamada was talking about making it super accessible. He’s thinking about adding and taking away stuff. He really believes that if they just keep adding layers of mechanics, the game will become way too complicated, and nobody will want to learn it. He wants to keep it streamlined, which I totally get – a fighting game should be easy to pick up, but hard to master, you know?

He explained that simply adding more and more features would make the game too complicated. With New Virtua Fighter, they need to try a different approach – both simplifying existing elements and introducing new ones.

We’ll continue experimenting to figure out the best approach, but I have full confidence in Yosuke Takeda, our battle director, to protect the essential aspects of the game – he’s been working on this series for a long time and really understands what makes it special. Our programming and animation teams also have a strong sense of what core elements need to stay consistent while we introduce new features. It’s all about balancing innovation with preserving the heart of the game.

The upcoming Next Virtua Fighter Project will introduce a brand new game mode called Uprising mode. While specific details are still limited, the developers describe it as creating exciting, unpredictable moments in matches. You can find more information about the game’s core fighting mechanics in our report from Tokyo Game Show 2025.

The next installment in the Virtua Fighter series is in development for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, but a release date hasn’t been announced yet.

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2025-12-02 18:12