The lineup for this year's Evolution Championship Series (otherwise known as Evo, for short) has just been revealed- and there's a crop of newcomers headed to the popular fighting game tournament.
Announced via a livestream event (via Gamespot), Mike Ross and Joey "MrWizard" Cuellar" listed off the nine games that will be featured at this year's Evo event.
And that list goes like this:
"Guilty Gear Xrd Sign"
"Killer Instinct"
"Mortal Kombat X"
"Persona 4 Arena Ultimax"
"Super Smash Bros for Wii U"
"Super Smash Bros Melee"
"Tekken 7"
"Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3"
"Ultra Street Fighter 4"
Most notable out of this list is the inclusion of "Tekken 7" and "Mortal Kombat X" -- two games that haven't yet been released. "Mortal Kombat" is set for an April 2015 release date, and "Tekken 7" will be out a few months before, in Februray. Evo 2015 will also be the global tournament debut for "Tekken 7," and the game will be playable on arcade machines at Evo.
As well, the inclusion of two separate "Super Smash Bros" games (and Games On Net adds that the original "Super Smash Bros" will likely be played at the event, though it might not be streamed) is a fascinating development, given Nintendo's somewhat contentious relationship with the fighting game tournament. In the past, the gaming company's tried to remove "Super Smash Bros Melee" from the 2013 Evo tournament- now, at least, the two entities seem to be on better terms.
Nintendo Insider adds that "Super Smash Bros for Wii U" was included in the tournament to reach out to "new blood" and shake things up for the tournament; although keeping "Super Smash Bros Melee" around is likely just as much a way to reach out to the old blood, who like the regular Evo games and want the tournament to stay consistent. This year's Evo will run from July 17-19.
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