‘Virtua Fighter’ Is Making A Comeback For Sega’s 60th Anniversary, With An Esports Twist

The Sega Corporation, the video game company best known for “Sonic the Hedgehog” and the Genesis home console from the early 90s, was founded 60 years ago. To celebrate the milestone anniversary, the company revealed a mysterious and unexpected new project on Friday: a revival of the “Virtua Fighter” series.

Sega’s announcement at the Tokyo Game Show carries an air of mystery due to the nature of the project teased. Instead of outright confirming a sequel of the reboot of the well-regarded fighting game franchise, Sega described the new project as “an esports title to commemorate the 60th anniversary of SEGA’s establishment,” dubbing it “Virtua Fighter x esports.”

Specifics about the project are vague at this point, almost certainly on purpose. What can be surmised by fans is that the new “Virtua Fighter” will carry a strong focus on competitive play, though that isn’t saying much as multiplayer has been a major focus of fighting games for decades.

As noted by Polygon, the “x esports” naming convention is similar to another Sega title, “Puyo Puyo eSports.” This game, an entry in the long-running puzzle games franchise, put an added focus on creating multiplayer tournaments.

Debuting in Japanese arcade in 1993, “Virtua Fighter” broke ground as the first 3D fighting game, a massive leap for a genre defined by “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Kombat.” Over the years and sequels, as its technical breakthroughs became less unique, the series became known for its deep and technical combat systems.

“Virtua Fighter 5” was the last major entry in the series, debuting in arcades in 2006 and making its way to PlayStation 3 in 2007. “Virtua Fighter: Fever Combo,” a card-based mobile game released only in Japan in 2014, was the last time a game carried the series’ branding.