Virtua Fighter

Sega and Ryu ga Gotoku Studio formally announced the next entry in the Virtua Fighter series, titled Virtua Fighter Crossroads, during the Summer Game Fest 2026 livestream on June 6. The game is scheduled for release in 2027. The announcement trailer shows a new protagonist, an older Pai Chan, and a new fighter named Cielo. Producer and creative director Riichiro Yamada described the game as neither a sequel, remake, nor remaster, but a deliberate departure that combines a narrative-driven single-player adventure with evolved versus fighting. The team aims to create what they call a 'fighting adventure' genre, while preserving the series' core values of reality and innovation.

The game is set in the fictional Southeast Asian city of Villa Sapara, where firearms are banned and underground fighting tournaments drive the plot. The story uses an omnibus format following four new protagonists, while older characters like Pai Chan and Wolf appear aged to reflect the passage of time. The battle system retains the series' simple three-button controls but adds new mechanics like multi-opponent fights and boss battles in the story mode. Overseas writers including David Hayter and Brad Kane contributed to the scenario. David Hayter is world building supervisor, Brad Kayne is lead writer, and Tsuyoshi Furuta and Shinji Yamamoto are scenario writers.

At EVO 2026, Sega revealed a new masked character called Bakunawa Killer. The trailer shows the character fighting Pai Chan, and when Pai knocks the mask off, she appears shocked, but the character's true identity is not revealed. Observers noted that Bakunawa Killer's fighting style resembles moves from past series characters Lau Chan and Lei Fei. The game was also selected as one of 27 projects in Japan's METI IP360 large-scale production support program, under the title 'VIRTUA FIGHTER CROSSROADS'. Platforms and pricing remain unannounced.