“Avengers assemble” isn’t just a call to action for superheroes; it’s also the basis for a new tag fighting game. The reveal of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls closed out PlayStation’s State of Play presentation ahead of Summer Games Fest 2025. PlayStation Studios and Marvel Games are teaming up with Arc System Works, the studio behind the Guilty Gear fighting game series, for this project. The game is scheduled to launch some time in 2026 on PlayStation 5 and on PC through the Steam and Epic stores.
The trailer shows several members of the Marvel roster — Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, Storm, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord and Ghost Rider — cycling on screen and showing off their abilities. Team-based fighting games have a long lineage, but those are commonly trios of characters controlled by a single competitor. Marvel Tōkon ups the ante with a 4v4 team system.
The additional team member creates even more potential for flashy combination attacks. “One of the appeals of Marvel comics is seeing the vast cast of characters coming together to create all kinds of unique team-ups,” Game Director and Lead Battle Designer Kazuto Sekine said of the design choice. “With these two ideas in mind, we concluded that creating a 4v4 team VS system would be the best way to not only create those over-the-top moments, but to further evolve the tag fighting genre.”
Marvel is having a bit of a moment in gaming, with the team shooter Marvel Rivals becoming a surprise sensation in recent months despite heavy competition from established titles. (Unfortunately, that success didn’t save several members of the North American dev team from being laid off in February.) It should be fascinating to compare how the two genres interpret the iconic characters and their powers.
