The world of fighting games is getting a lot bigger in 2023. We’ve already had huge releases this year like Street Fighter 6, in which player count set new records. It isn’t just SF 6 in 2023 though, the upcoming fighting games this year include some of the biggest franchises, all with new instalments this year.
Between the big-known series and original titles, new fighting games look set to be some of the most impressive titles we’ve seen in the whole of gaming this year. There are new releases across loads of different areas of the top fighting games. We’ve broken down the best upcoming fighting games to keep an eye on in 2023.
Top Upcoming Fighting Games
5. King of Fighters XIII
Source: @SNKPoffical
King of Fighters XIII Global Match is a new take on one of the franchise’s most well-liked titles. It’s a new take on the game with a completely up-to-date rollback netcode! The whole thing looks like a huge evolution on the original game. It might just be a remake or refresh, but it’s one of the top new fighting games to keep an eye on. There’s even a KoF XIII demo coming.
4. GranBlue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Source: Arc System Works
If all of the mainstream fighters like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat aren’t quite doing it for you, there are plenty of new anime fighting games coming too! GranBlue Fantasy Versus Rising is another take from Arc System Works’ spin-off franchise. The new game will bring back characters from the original game, alongside a few new inclusions picked directly from polls from fans of the game! If recent Arc games are anything to go by, GranBlue Fantasy Versus Rising looks like to be one of the top upcoming fighting games.
3. Disney Domination
Source: Nintendo, Disney
Disney Domination is one of the upcoming fighting games that’s a bit different. This isn’t an officially announced game. However, huge Disney Domination leaks (images of which Disney has scrubbed off the internet, hence the extremely crude mockup) have shown basically what we need to know about the game. It’s a Squire Enix and Disney take on the Smash Bros platformer fighter, complete with plenty of wacky crossover characters. Unlike Smash though, this has a decent story component where we get to see Donald Duck and Darth Vader hang out with Homer Simpson, at least if the leaks of cinematics are anything to go by. It’s one of the new fighting games that has a lot of potential depending on how it’s handled.
2. Tekken
Source: Bandai Namco
Along with MK and SF, Tekken is the third of the big fighting game franchises. Not to be outdone, we’re also getting a new release from the Bandai Namco series in 2023.
We don’t know very much at all about this one! A lot of content is still basically unknown outside of Tekken 8 rough leaks, small announcements, and a lot of guesswork! This is an exciting stage. We’re apparently much closer to release than we think. Although, there are still so many surprises left for us in the build-up.
1. Mortal Kombat 1
Maybe the most hotly anticipated upcoming fighting games of the year is Mortal Kombat 1. The latest instalment in the long-running franchise takes a different approach, going back to the start for a Mortal Kombat prequel. The title has already had some cool visuals shown off, along with some other details if you want to delve into Mortal Kombat 1 leaks. This is one of the new fighting games with the most hype behind it this year.