With the announcement of recent fighting game titles, a certain subgenre has re-emerged to steal the spotlight soon: tag fighters. Read on to learn more about the recent announcements, why this is the perfect time for their comeback and more.
An Unexpected Renaissance of Fighting Games
Let’s not sugarcoat it. The community needs something new to watch due to the current state of fighting games.
Tekken 8 has hit an all-time low due to the community being dissatisfied with the game’s social media presence and questionable balancing practices due to the developer’s approach to collecting data. NetherRealm has seemingly given up on Mortal Kombat 1 with the release of the Definitive Edition and has been quiet since then. Guilty Gear Strive has been quietly chugging along as the one 2D anime fighting game that’s still active. Fatal Fury hasn’t been selling particularly well despite the glowing reviews of the community. Finally, Street Fighter 6’s latest season has been lackluster due to the lack of big changes to the meta and cosmetics that the previous title had.
So, yeah. Fighting games aren’t exactly in a bright spot now, since the well-known games just aren’t hitting the right buttons. Everything under the spotlight feels stale, and players have either learned to suck it up and adapt or play other fighting games they actually enjoy. Fighting games aren’t actually dead, despite the title; it’s just really boring to watch right now. And it’s worse to see that the communities surrounding the popular fighting games are so negative about the current state of things.
There just needs to be something new, refreshing, and honestly chaotic as opposed to the current offering of fighting games. Now all of a sudden, Marvel Games wants to make a new tag fighter with Arc System Works, Invincible is getting a fighting game under the folks who made Killer Instinct (2021), and Riot has just put out a developer update for their long-awaited fighting game, and the upcoming Hunter x Hunter tag fighter has broken levels of hype?
As a fan of fighting games as a genre, I’m extremely stoked about this development. Watching the chaos unfold as players look to do the nastiest setup into a touch-of-death combo is something that a traditional fighting game can’t match. That’s all well and amazing, but how did we get here in the first place? Why are tag fighters coming back?
A Return Long Overdue
Let’s start with what’s been going on before these games were announced. It’s no secret that the tag fighter genre has declined in recent years. Since the release of Dragon Ball FighterZ (DBFZ) back in 2018, there hasn’t been another tag fighter that matches it. To be more specific, the other tag fighters that were being released during the past few years just haven’t been as popular or as big as this game. The only other game that was bigger was the game that is still widely considered the greatest tag fighter of all time, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (UMvC3).
If you were going to analyze the development of the popular games in this particular genre, there are not many that gain traction. For example, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, the sequel to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, was criticized due to its poor visuals and considerably weak character roster compared to its predecessors.
Other games, such as BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Skullgirls, and Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, weren’t as popular as the main
tag fighters for a multitude of reasons. Some will say it's due to the IP being a little too niche compared to the likes of Dragon Ball and Marvel, while others will say it's due to the gameplay mechanics themselves.
Controlling the Chaos
To understand more, we should first describe what a tag fighter is. A tag fighter is generally a fighting game that involves more than two characters for each player, ranging from 2v2 to 3v3 for the most part. Because of this, there are generally more characters to choose from and play with. Additionally, they also have unique mechanics like Assists,
which utilize your other characters to attack while the character you’re controlling is still on-screen. This particular mechanic is normally considered the main mechanic of these games, so games like King of Fighters, which have multiple characters in a team, aren’t considered tag fighters since they don’t have assists.
With this in mind, the main appeal for tag fighters is the depth it offers in utilizing its mechanics and finding the right team in its roster of characters. Finding the correct synergy is essential to finding success in the game. An example of this is the infamous team in UMvC3 popularized by one of its greatest players, Christopher ChrisG
Gonzales, which has Morrigan Aensland, Doctor Doom, and Vergil.
The main reason why this team is so strong is due to how well the characters synergize and how good they are at playing their roles effectively. Morrigan and her Astral Vision
super make her a god-tier zoning character with her projectiles, Doctor Doom has one of the best pressure assists in the game with Homing Missiles, and Vergil is arguably the best anchor in the game with the game’s comeback mechanic, X-Factor.
There are other teams in the game that are just as infamous; teams such as Zero May Cry (Zero, Dante, Vergil) and MDP (Magneto, Doctor Doom, Phoenix), to give an example. But some teams are extremely creative and strong despite not using the strongest characters individually.
An example of this is Javier IHeartJustice
Funes-Morales’ team of Captain America (Marvel), Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney), and Doctor Strange (Marvel). Another example is Genki ABEGEN
Abe’s unique team of Tron Bonne, Thor, and She-Hulk. These teams were special and unique due to the strong synergy that all the characters had in their respective teams, despite being regarded as low-tier characters.
Both teams made use of their characters’ strengths perfectly, as IHeartJustice uses Captain America and Doctor Strange’s assists to support Phoenix Wright’s unique game plan of collecting evidence. Abegen’s team synergizes by being able to combo each character’s supers, unique special moves, and their high overall damage despite each character being labeled as mid to low tier.
With a design like this, it’s a subgenre of fighting games that encourages creativity and experimentation to the highest level, especially with the seemingly limitless possibilities that it offers.
The New Challengers are Coming
After all that yapping about what tag fighters are, what are the upcoming tag fighters coming out in the first place? Four upcoming titles have either been revealed or already have a release date planned that are highly anticipated.
2XKO
For those who were paying attention in any capacity to fighting games, you might’ve heard about 2XKO. Officially announced back in 2024 and notoriously in development since 2016, 2XKO is a 2v2 tag fighter based on the MOBA League of Legends. It’s a free-to-play fighting game that’ll feature single-button specials and known League of Legends champions in a fighting game, along with tag fighting mechanics.
Unfortunately, the game still doesn’t have an official release date until now and we’re still waiting for it to come out. If anything, Riot has dropped the ball for not being able to deliver this game sooner. It literally had no other competition against it in the genre while having the benefit of being known as both a popular IP and a strong esports presence with their games.
Hunter X Hunter NEN IMPACT
The first tag fighting game to kick things off will be released on July 17, 2025 for PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. The game will be a 3v3 tag fighter where players can choose three different characters, each with their unique moves, strengths, and weaknesses, to make up their team. Additionally, players will be able to utilize classic tag fighter mechanics like assists, tag super combos, and more.
Hunter x Hunter is a Japanese shonen manga series known for its memorable characters, captivating story, and, most importantly, its awe-inspiring fights. If you were to ask me, this was a long time coming, as there haven’t been many games representing the series, and a fighting game is a perfect genre to show off the strength of the characters.
One of the more important details to take into consideration, however, is that the developers of the game were also responsible for the creation of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. So, fans of the Marvel 3 are already expecting the same amount of crazy interactions and extremely broken setups to play around with. Just like Marvel 3, it has shown to have that familiar volatile style of gameplay where movement is lightning-fast, combos are long and potentially deadly, and team synergy can outwork the strongest of characters.
Invincible VS
Described as the proverbial new kid on the block, Invincible VS is a new 3v3 tag fighter that features the popular comic book series Invincible. Similar to the source material, the game will feature a bloody and brutal style of fighting, which isn’t commonly seen outside of the Mortal Kombat franchise. The developers of Skybound Games are joined by the veteran developers of the previously known Double Helix Games, known for releasing Killer Instinct for the Xbox One. Rest assured, fans can expect a combo-based fighting game that features unique characters with exclusive gimmicks due to the amazing implementation in their previous game.
While the actual gameplay details still aren’t complete, Skybound Games has already announced that the game will make use of simple button inputs for special moves so that the game is accessible to a wider audience, especially those who aren’t familiar with the genre. Furthermore, the small bits of information that have been teased and revealed so far have shown that characters will have certain archetypes that follow common fighting game standards (i.e., Rushdown, Grappler, Zoner, etc.). Lastly, the game has some sort of unique interactions with stages and assists, as revealed in their development updates that show off its gameplay.
Invincible VS is set to be released sometime in 2026 for PC (Steam, Xbox Game Pass), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls
Perhaps the most surprising announcement of the bunch, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is an upcoming tag fighter that will feature a never-before-seen fighting system of 4v4 combat. Marvel Games makes its way back to the tag fighter genre with their upcoming collaboration with Arc System Works, developer of popular anime fighting games like Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, and more. The decision to make it into a 4v4 format was the natural appeal of comic book characters coming together and creating unique team-ups, as well as the desire to evolve the tag-fighting genre.
As of writing, there still aren’t concrete details as to the actual gameplay mechanics that are in the game. However, it was revealed that they are creating a unique system that does not require players to learn four different characters despite it being a 4v4 tag fighter. It has been confirmed that the game will have traditional fighting game inputs and simplified inputs as popularized by today’s fighting games.
The developers have also stated that they had certain criteria for the characters to be included in the game, specifically that they felt that these characters were the face
of Marvel and that they would be able to showcase their style and prowess in combat. Additionally, they also wanted to make room for Marvel characters that had never appeared in a game before. That being said, they have made sure to represent them properly with their unique move pools of Normals, Specials, Unique, and Ultimate attacks.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is scheduled to be released sometime in 2026 for PC (Steam) and PlayStation 5.
Why the Comeback?
So, the question is, why are the tag fighters coming back? For one, the empty space left by the Marvel vs. Capcom series and Dragon Ball FighterZ means that there’s currently no main game for the genre. It’s gone on to the point that both games are still being played competitively as side tournaments in big events like CEO (Community Effort Orlando) and EVO (Evolution Championship Series).
Another reason for it is that the companies involved in making fighting games have finally seen that the market is up for grabs. As explained earlier, there hasn’t been a tag fighter that matched up to the likes of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Dragon Ball FighterZ in terms of popularity, and they probably thought that it was time to change that. These two games have specifically leveraged big IPs to build upon and contributed significantly to the popularity of both the genre and the games themselves.
With how tag fighters are essentially designed and how different they are from a traditional fighting game, these games represent characters much better because they would need to be restricted if they were in a 1v1 game. Sure, there’s some sort of balance in tag fighters, but not as comparable as it is in traditional fighting games. There’s a sense of unfairness
to tag fighters that are not allowed in the latter, which helps with how they represent characters from big IPs.
A concrete example would be how Capcom represented Magneto as a character in the Marvel vs. games. He is classified as an Omega-level mutant with the powers of magnetism, or a mutant with powers that have an undefinable upper limit. All of his appearances in the Marvel vs. series resemble that of his comic book appearance with the red and purple motif. His abilities may not be as comic book accurate since I have not seen him do a Magnetic Shockwave
of some sort in any issue that I’ve read, but the fact remains that his strength can be more than just pulling and repelling metals since magnetism can be so much more than that.
Another example would be Omni-Man in Mortal Kombat 1. Fans of Invincible, both the comics and the animated series, know just how insanely strong Omni-Man is in his respective universe. In Mortal Kombat 1, he has to be balanced against the other kombatants and the game’s slower pace, which may not lead to the same feeling of experiencing what a character like Omni-Man is actually capable of. There hasn’t been any footage of Omni-Man in the upcoming Invincible VS game yet, but seeing the game in action with the gameplay trailers and their deep dives, it just matches the source material’s gratuitous violence to a tee. While Mortal Kombat can match up to the gore and bloody knuckles, it doesn’t quite represent Omni-Man to his character in the comics or series.
Tag fighters offer a seemingly infinite amount of creativity when it comes to team building and general offense. A direct comparison between a traditional fighting game and a tag fighter would be how it handles offense after a hard knockdown. A game like Street Fighter turns this into a rock-paper-scissors
where the attacker can either strike, throw, or bait something that the defender would do. Marvel, on the other hand, has setups where the attacker can hit you from either side, high or low, and maybe even an unblockable.
Of course, this is a gross simplification of how fighting games work, but the comparison of offense and defense between the two genres is vastly different. Tag fighters in general just have more chaotic and crazier possible scenarios than a traditional fighting game due to having more offensive options, characters, mechanics, and the like, save for some exceptions.
Reject Tradition, Embrace Volatility
Personally, tag fighters should come back to the competitive spotlight. If I’m going to be honest, this is the perfect time to introduce that volatility again, and I hope one of these games brings back the hype that only tag fighters can bring. Of course, that isn’t to say that the release of any of these tag fighters would mean that they’re an instant hit, no. The subgenre isn’t an exception to being a fighting game with a big IP and then turning out to be a flop. Only time will tell if these games will be great and hold their own against each other, especially since now they’re all competing for the same throne.
Regardless of whether they flop or not, the unique and chaotic energy of tag fighters is needed in the fighting game community. The subgenre just allows for creativity to shine in an explosive way that’s not seen in traditional fighting games through synergistic teams, insane outplays, and more. Top players are also able to make a name for themselves by showcasing their unique playstyle, and those in the community know that playing defensively in a tag fighter is wildly different than playing defensively in a traditional one.
Will we ever have something like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 or even Dragon Ball FighterZ? Maybe not. Will it revive the genre? Probably a lot more fun to watch and maybe a little more creative than today’s standards. The time is ripe to introduce something to shake up the community once again for something a little more chaotic and a little more volatile. And if that chaotic thing is bundled with six-way mixups, touch-of-death combos, unblockable incomings, and crazy wave dashes, then you’ll be sure to find me watching it.
