What fighting game announcements, if any, should we be on the lookout for during Evo 2021 Online?
There's probably only going to be a few at most
The Evolution Championship Series events evolved over time to become a place where fighting game developers would come to announce their new projects and characters alongside the tournaments themselves although this year is a bit different.
Evo 2021 Online officially kicked off this weekend with the first half of this massive event, but are there any likely reveals we should be on the lookout for?
As things stand right now, no game company has outright confirmed that they're planning anything to show at Evo this weekend or next.
That being said, however, there are still some very likely candidates whose timelines or ties to the event seem to make Evo Online the perfect opportunity to show off more.
To help make this a bit more fun to digest, we're going to go over the big games from the main event and side tournaments with their likelihood of having something more to showcase.
So let's start things off with what we should probably scratch off of that potential list.
(Probably) Not Happening
Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition
Capcom already held their long-awaited Summer Update event earlier this week where they provided breakdowns for Akira Kazama and Oro alongside the reveal of the final DLC character, Luke.
Though they've been one of the most consistent developers to have something new for Evo, there just doesn't seem to be anything else to show unless they want to tease their next fighting game or something — which seems pretty doubtful right now.
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
NetherRealm Studios already announced Mortal Kombat 11's development has ended, and it's too early to learn what they're cooking up next. We shouldn't really expect anything new from them either.
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Bandai Namco revealed they're holding their own stream dedicated to the future of Dragon Ball FighterZ early next week, so there's not much point in them showing anything at Evo — especially since it's not a main title this year.
Maybe?
Skullgirls 2nd Encore
Similarly to the others, Hidden Variable released a short teaser for their next DLC character, Umbrella, at the end of July.
There is a chance she could receive a more traditional trailer following the North American finals on Sunday, but it still seems likely too early for that right now.
Tekken 7 and Soul Calibur 6
Both of Bandai Namco's big 3D fighting games are in the same boat at the moment with their prior seasons of content already come to an end without any promise that more is coming down the pipeline for them.
Tekken 7 probably has the better shot at showing up since it is a main title though, so maybe we'll get a final season after all in perhaps a similar situation to SF5.
Good Chance
Guilty Gear Strive
Although Guilty Gear Strive already received its first DLC character in Goldlewis Dickinson less than two weeks ago, it seems to have the best case of anything else here.
Arc System Works confirmed the second character and a balance update are planned for the latter half of the month, and its Evo finals taking place on the 15th seems like the perfect opportunity to drop a new trailer.
This is even more so the case since Strive is the headlining game of the whole event with the most amount of players showing up by far.
All eyes are going to be on those Asia and North American finals, so it seems like a pretty big missed opportunity if they don't have anything to show.
Project L
Project L was first unveiled to the world back at Evo 2019, but it's pretty much gone dark ever since as they work behind the scenes.
This timing largely came because Evo founders Tony and Tom Cannon are also leading the development team at Radiant Entertainment working on the League of Legends fighting game spin-off.
Following some hefty rumors and fake leaks earlier this year, Tom Cannon did confirm they're planning an update to share more about the game around the end of 2021.
Although I'm not sure anyone would consider early August as around the end of the year, it'll certainly be a difficult opportunity to pass up considering Evo is the largest fighting game event that the Cannon's also helped to create — even if Sony does technically own it now.
There is probably just as good of a chance, however, that Riot Games does just really want to hold news about the League fighter back for a showcase centered around only their games.
If we do even get something for Project L, it could be as simple as a title and logo drop, so that we at least know what to officially call it and help drum up some excitement for later on.
Are there any announcements you're expecting or hoping to see over the next two weekends? Let us know in the comments as well as your favorite Evo reveals of all time.
