Over the weekend, the Arc World Tour 2025–2026 Finals were held in Goyang, South Korea, showcasing action across Arc System Works, including Guilty Gear -Strive-, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and Under Night In-Birth II Sys: Celes Champion.
Winners for each of the events included:
- Guilty Gear -Strive- Zangief_Dream from Japan
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising – Jack from the United States
- Under Night In-Birth II Sys: Celes Champion – Jaca from Brazil
Alongside crowning these three winners, there were also plenty of announcements and reveals for these Arc System Works. Guilty Gear -Strive- shared multiple announcements, including info on Version 2.0, Season Pass 5, and the game’s newest playable character.
Guilty Gear -Strive- Version 2.0 is scheduled to launch on April 9, 2026, alongside the start of Season 5, with Jam Kuradoberi being announced as the next playable fighter. Robo-Ky is slated for release in Summer 2026, followed by two additional unnamed characters planned for Winter 2026 and Spring 2027.
For players purchasing the full Season Pass 5 ($24.99), they will receive all four DLC characters – plus a special Season Pass 5 Purchaser Bonus including Additional Battle Stage #9 “Cradled by the Four Beasts”, Season 5 Characters Additional Colors (7 colors for the 4 characters, total 28 colors), GGST Wanted Poster Skin “Street”, and GGST Battle UI Skin “Vintage Metal”.
Gameplay mechanics will be introduced alongside the update, including the Counter Blitz mechanic and new special moves to the existing roster. Significant balance shifts will also be added to change the meta, such as the removal of Wild Assault and new customization options
Speaking of Guilty Gear, it was also revealed that Korean and Brazilian Portuguese localization will be coming to the Steam version of the ultimate melee action game Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- on March 23, 2026 (KST).
As a means of celebrating the second anniversary of its hit light novel-style action fighting game, Arc System Works revealed a brand new 2026 character trailer for Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes, giving a brief glimpse of someone who appears to have an evil aesthetic and may be another magic user. The release is planned for sometime in 2026.
