The best fighting games of 2025

Fighting games have not been part of the gaming niche for a long time. Since Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6’s considerable efforts to provide rich content for new players and a springboard into complex mechanics, more and more gamers are enjoying the classic genre. Either way, titles have become essential in electronic sports.

And even in 2025, some exciting new things await us in the world of fighting games. We’ve taken a look at the biggest confirmed releases of the coming year.

01

Street Fighter 6 – Saison 3

We are currently in the middle of the second season of Street Fighter 6. The next DLC character is Mai Shiranui from the Fatal Fury series and Capcom has already presented us with a first teaser. Next, recurring fighter Elena will complete the bonus fighter pack.

After that, it is not yet clear what the next stages of the game will be. Of course, we should expect the arrival of new fighters, but also significant balance changes during the year. Some characters are still waiting to compete against the strongest fighters in the title. From the start, the clusterer Lily and the master drunk Jamie have had a little trouble finding their place in the world of tournaments.

The 11th Capcom Cup will take place from March 5 to 9 in Tokyo. At the latest, we’ll know what the plans are for Street Fighter 6 in 2025.

The first season of Tekken 8 is coming to an end. The final character of the first downloadable roster, Clive Rosefield from Final Fantasy 16, was recently revealed. Bandai Namco also presented the first information about the Season 2 update. In the trailer we can see some character changes and additional content. Keen-eyed viewers may also spot a possible hint that Nina’s sister, Anna Williams, will once again be part of the cast of characters in the second season.

For the League of Legends fighter from Riot Games, it is also not yet clear where the journey will take place in 2025. The title has already passed the first public play sessions and alpha tests. For the moment, we are talking about a release in 2025, but we estimate that it will take place more in the second half of the year or in winter.

Lately, fans got a new look at the revised Jinx. She was part of the confirmed roster from the beginning, but she’s been reworked and given a whole new set of moves.

According to Riot Games, the next alpha test will take place in spring 2025. This will therefore be a new opportunity to play 2XKO.

04

Fatal Fury : City of Wolves

In 2025, we celebrate the return of a pillar of the genre. With Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, SNK brings back the series of games that allowed them to establish themselves at the time alongside Street Fighter.

Many City of the Wolves characters, like Rock Howard, Terry Bogard, and Mai Shiranui, are likely already familiar to fans from King of Fighters. These titles bring together fighters from different SNK series like Samurai Shodown, Art of Fighting or Fatal Fury.

In addition to a stylish look full of half-tone effects and bright colors, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves should offer a gameplay system focusing above all on the diversity of attack and defense options. The title will be released on April 21.

Interestingly, two guest characters from Street Fighter will be playable in City of the Wolves: Ken and Chun-Li are already confirmed for SNK’s fighting game. How is this relevant? As we have already received a visit from SNK in the form of Terry and Mai Shiranui in Street Fighter 6, everything suggests that we could have a new episode of the Capcom vs SNK series.

The fact that Capcom has announced the release of Capcom Fighting Collection 2 only fuels this hope. According to current information, the collection will include the following games:

For many of these games, this is the first release on a modern platform. Capcom has already taken first-rate steps toward the availability of its classic fighting games with the Capcom Fighting Collection and the Marvel vs. Capcom Collection.

06

Hunter x Hunter : Nen Impact

Anime fans will also be treated to a new fighting game. The famous Hunter x Hunter series will have its first adaptation into a fighting game. The title is developed by 8ing, who in the past has been responsible for legendary titles like Bloody Roar 2 or Marvel vs Capcom 3. More recently, they developed the Dungeon Fighter sequel DNF Duel for Arc System Works and Nexon.

Like a few of their previous works, Hunter x Hunter will be a team-based combat game. In Nen Impact, three characters per side will face each other, and it will be possible to switch from one to the other at any time. From a gaming perspective, the title takes heavy inspiration from Marvel vs. Capcom 3, as evidenced by the fact that some fighters use animations from that game.

Currently, Hunter x Hunter: Nen Impact is scheduled for release in Q3 2025.