The official trailer for EVO Japan in 2018 has released, airing during the grand finals that was also broadcast on ESPN 2. The trailer reveals the EVO Japan game line-up, which includes Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, King of Fighters XIV, Blazblue: Central Fiction, Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U, Street Fighter V, and Nintendo’s very own ARMS.
Surprisingly, there is no Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite and Super Smash Bros. Melee was also left out of the loop. Another fan-favorite, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 – which had to be crowdfunded to make the cut at this year’s EVO 2017 event – is also absent from the Japanese line-up. You can see the trailer below to get a glimpse at what will be competitively showcased at next year’s event in Tokyo, Japan.
Not having Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite could be a sign that EVO Japan only wants quality, patched games at the ready when it’s time to compete. This also means that we won’t be seeing Injustice 2 make the cut either.
In fact, there’s a very stark absence of American fighting games, something that was already a rarity at most EVO events save for NetherRealm Studios’ Mortal Kombat games and Microsoft’s Killer Instinct (the latter of which did not make the cut at this year’s championship series).
As tweeted out by the official EVO Japan Twitter account, you can expect to see the EVO Japan 2018 Championship Series get underway between January 26th, 2018 and January 28th, 2018 over the weekend.
【EVO Japan 2018】
2018/1/26～1/28, We’re waiting for you.https://t.co/U5XSx7ETJm#EvoJapan— EVO Japan (@EVOJapanNews) July 17, 2017
It’s a little shocking that the game line-up is so tame because it would have seemed like Capcom would have lobbied hard to have Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite on display as a premiere title at the tournament. The game is due out on September 19th, 2017 later this year for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
You can learn more about the EVO Japan line-up by visiting the newly opened official website.
