Sega is long dormant Virtua Fighter franchise is set to make a comeback, with the publisher recently revealing that none other than Ryu Ga Gotoku will be directing its next entry. RGG's portfolio is mostly dominated by the productive Yakuza franchise, which certainly borrows its fair share from the fighting game genre, hopes are high that the next Virtua Fighter will be something special.
The Consumer Electronics Show 2025 was the venue for Virtua Fighters new in-engine footage. Although it's presented as gameplay, the footage makes it very clear that it's simply pre-development footage made in the engine, meaning it's effectively a pre-animated cutscene meant to approximate what the final product could look like. In other words, it's a proof-of-concept video. But this proof-of-concept has a lot to dig into, especially on the animation front, and it would be surprising if RGG could manage to get the actual Virtua Fighter 6 the game to look like it. For better or for worse, that's the expectation that Sega and RGG have set.
Family
Virtua Fighter 5: Every Major Change In Ultimate Showdown
Ultimate Showdown revived the Virtua Fighter franchise with many new features, game modes and more.
Virtua Fighter 6 Trailer sets a high bar to clear
The Virtual Fighter 6 Concept Trailer is amazing
Graphically, Virtua FighterThe CES concept trailer is quite beautiful: character models and background elements are realized in impressive detail, hair and clothing physics are realistic, and lighting effects are convincing and aesthetically pleasing. But at the same time, these graphics aren't exactly anything to write home about, especially when compared to other games in the fighting genre, which tend towards great visuals in general. No, the truly impressive part of this trailer is the animation quality.
The video, which showcases a fight between two versions of the character Akira, amazes with its realization of believable and detailed fight choreography. When one Akira blocks an attack from the other, for example, he doesn't just sit on his guard. Rather, he reacts to the assault the same way someone in real life might fight, planning his defense around the angle, position and force of his opponent's punch. Combining these blocks, no two of which are the same, with equally well-animated dodges makes this fight look like something straight out of an action movie – it's far from Tekken or Street Fighter. Of course, this is just a concept trailer, but if it reflects Sega and RGG's intentions for the full game, so be it Virtua Fighter 6 could represent a definitive step forward for its genre.
How Virtua Fighter 6 could match its trailer's strengths
Realistically speaking, Virtua Fighter 6 probably won't look as good as it does in its concept trailer. The fact that the footage has been rendered within the game engine means that it is technically possible to produce images of that quality, but the sheer amount of work that would be required to render dynamic animations that granular is borderline absurd. RGG would have to make unique animations for every possible attack from every single character, taking into account things like distance and positioning, leading to several thousand distinct animations. Also, even if the trailer looks good, such a truth might not translate into enjoyable gameplay; battle flow can be choppy and not conducive to most playstyles.
But that doesn't mean the final game can't have some leftovers from the concept trailer. It would be great to see a fighting game that takes into account things like type of attack (strike, jab, kick, etc.) for block animations. Other fighting games can make the defender make small adjustments based on attack type, distance, and other factors, but not to the degree seen in Virtua Fighter 6 trailer. It has been many years since the last time Virtua Fighter release, so if the franchise is looking to make a splash, then perhaps this revolutionary level of animation detail could be the ticket.
Virtua Fighter 6
