Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have released a new video detailing some information about its upcoming fighting game, Next Virtua Fighter Project. The video, which you can check out below, was showcased during Tokyo Game Show 2025, and gives us a look at some of the upcoming title’s mechanics, including distinct play styles and some of the gameplay systems that players will engage with in the course of a match.
Next Virtua Fighter Project will offer two distinct rule sets for players to use, both of which represents entirely separate styles of play. The first rule set, dubbed Standard, revolves around typical fighting game rules where two players have to reduce each others’ health down to zero or win by knocking them out of the arena. The victor of a Standard match will be decided in a best-of-5 format.
Uprising, on the other hand, features much of the same core rules, but with some new systems that have been described as providing opportunities for players to shift the momentum of any given fight. Not too many details have been revealed about Uprising, however, but its description makes it sound like a less formal and more casual way to experience Next Virtua Fighter Project.
The core fighting gameplay in Next Virtua Fighter Project will be powered by a few new mechanics: Break & Rush, Stunner and Stun Combo, and Flow Guard. Break & Rush is a system that rewards players for focusing on specific body parts of their opponents. Dealing enough damage to a body part will eventually allow the player to use a break attack, which puts the opponent in a “broken” state, which is also carried over between match rounds.
The Stunner system is essentially a brand new combo mechanic that makes use of Next Virtua Fighter’s core mechanics and animations to encourage more fluid combos. Flow Guard is set to be a new defense-oriented mechanic which works in tandem with the Break & Rush system, giving players a more fluid and intuitive way to block incoming attacks.
While Next Virtua Fighter Project still doesn’t have an official title yet, producer Riichiro Yamada had previously spoken about how the fighting game is being designed so that anyone can enjoy it. This largely stems from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios hanging on to series creator Yu Suzuki’s vision for the franchise from the 1990s.
“So originally when Yu Suzuki created the Virtua Fighter, he did a lot of testing,” said Yamada. “He actually tested with more than three buttons, like a lot of buttons. But they came to the three button conclusion. At the time it was more of a Game Center (Arcade) focused game, so that was the best at the time.”
“And the concept was that they wanted to create a game that was not too complicated and that anyone could enjoy. And so from that concept, I feel like, yes, I need to respect that concept. I want to create a game where anyone can play.”
Next Virtua Fighter Project is being developed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and doesn’t yet have a release date. For more details about how the title will look and feel, check out the gameplay trailer from last month.
