Evo, the largest fighting game tournament series in the world, is undergoing some major changes heading into 2026. It was recently announced that Sony Computer Entertainment was selling its stake in the event to the Indian organizer NODWIN Gaming and Saudi Arabia’s Quiddiya. As a result, not only will the event be taking place earlier in 2026, but the full games line-up has also been revealed far earlier than usual.
Evolution Champion Series (formerly Battle by the Bay) was founded in 1996 and has been a staple of the fighting game community for almost 30 years. The events were initially held in California before moving permanently to Nevada in 2008. Historically, Evo has highlighted eight of its main tournaments as the headliner games; however, this year, the number is jumping to a staggering twelve games for both the USA and Japan events.
EVO Japan 2026 Line-Up (May 1-3, 2026)
- Street Fighter 6
- Tekken 8
- Guilty Gear Strive
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
- King of Fighters XV
- Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O: World Stage
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star)
- Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire
- Melty Blood: Type Lumina
- Under Night In-Birth II Sys-Celes
- 2XKO
EVO 2026 Line-Up (June 26-28, 2026)
- Street Fighter 6
- Tekken 8
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- Under Night In-Birth II Sys-Celes
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
- Rivals of Aether II
- Invincible VS
- Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire
- Guilty Gear Strive
- BlazBlue: Central Fiction
- Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O: World Stage
- 2XKO
There are some interesting insights to be gleaned from the reveal of this line-up, perhaps most noteworthy is the absence of Arc System Works’ upcoming Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls tag-fighter. This could be for a number of reasons, but most likely it is that the game will not release in the first half of 2026. Invincible VS is the only unreleased title to make the line-up, which lines up with the tease that its release date will be announced at The Game Awards 2026. 2XKO will also be making its debut during this year’s events, with the console version set to release in January 2026.
The events will also feature more retro games, such as Vampire Savior, Blazblue: Central Fiction, and Fist of the North Star, showing that even though there are plenty of major new release titles attracting players and viewers, there is still a movement to keep classic fighting games alive in the modern fighting game community.
EVO 2026 will take place from June 26-28, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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