Games

Capcom is Well-Poised for a Fighting Game Crossover That Isn't MvC 4

Published

2 months ago

November 10, 2024

The recent success of Capcom retro remaster collections has stirred excitement around the potential revival of the company’s legacy series. With MvC Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics seeing MvC2 finally being brought to modern systems with proper online play, interest in the iconic Capcom crossover IP has only grown. In light of the now frequent presence of SNK collaborations and hurdles in the way of another one with Marvel, however, Capcom vs. SNK could be on the way instead.

The MvC series was stuck in limbo after the disappointment of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, a title with solid mechanics that suffered from what was perceived as a lackluster roster and decline in visual style. Capcom Fighting Collection reignited hope for a new Darkstalkers, and now MvC Fighting Collection has done the same for Marvel, but a pattern of current releases connected to SNK seems to indicate that another bigger project could be on the horizon. With next year set to see a new era of Fatal Fury and the upcoming Capcom Fighting Collection 2 featuring the CvS games, the future might sooner see Capcom vs. SNK 3.

Every Game That Could Be In Capcom Fighting Collection 3 Explained

Table of Contents

Capcom has enough old fighting games left to form one more worthwhile Capcom Fighting Collection, but it needs to choose its battles carefully.

Focusing on Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui in Street Fighter 6 Shows Remarkable Trust in Another IP

Now that Terry has been integrated into the seasonal release structure of the Street Fighter 6 DLC release schedule, it’s been proven that Capcom is willing to let a borrowed character drive an entire period of a flagship game’s support. The choice to also include Mai means that there will be an extended portion of the title’s overall life cycle dedicated to these guest fighters, and this arrangement appears to have been honored by both parties.

Ken and Chun-Li Have Apparently Found a Place in Fatal Fury

The game’s release might be several months away in April 2025, but SNK has already announced at this year’s Tokyo Game Show that Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will feature Street Fighter characters within its own first season DLC. Ken Masters and Chun-Li will somehow be making their way to South Town, mirroring the inclusion of FF characters in SF6 in what has been confirmed as an intentional move towards rekindling the past. With no footage of them yet and the remainder of that season’s DLC fighters yet unrevealed, it’s clearly become a priority to emphasize the growing ties between the companies.

New Generations Are Spearheading Both Franchises

Street Fighter 6‘s new take on the franchise has come as a triumphant introduction to an entire cast of fresh faces, and the upcoming Fatal Fury could be able to match this with a similar energy. It’s technically true that Rock Howard’s timeline was introduced all the way back in 1999’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves, but the greater FF series has been dormant for so long that the younger Terry Bogard design from before that time skip has since remained more ubiquitous. King of Fighters is actually an SNK crossover series despite having its own lore, so City of the Wolves‘ bold direction will mark the first advancement in the series in decades.

A Concept Has Likely Been in the Works Since 2022

In an interview, Fatal Fury producer Yasuyuki Oda told TheGamer about what sparked the “straight swap” of characters between the companies for their latest flagship fighting games, saying:

“It was Evo 2022 in Las Vegas. We had the posters that we brought out. And that’s the first time that SNK and Capcom sat down, and they first said,
‘Hey, we should do something.’
”

While the posters for the fighting game tournament by artists Shinkiro and Eisuke Ogura featuring characters from both companies were likely just intended to be a homage to their shared history, as the beloved Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 was featured in the event lineup that year, their creation ended up reviving interest in the crossover. The addition of Terry to SF6 has landed with fans of both IPs and more is on the way, but it’s also notable that this dynamic seems to have sprung up so casually. This stands in stark contrast to MvC, a series that may never be able to return to the essence of its older titles.

A key challenge that may continue to decrease the odds of future Marvel vs. Capcom titles getting made lies in navigating the massively increased status of the Marvel brand when compared to the early 2000s. Working around the scale of the MCU’s success and the business incentives of Disney as an owner can make it especially difficult to collect a large cast of characters from different franchises, a huge shift from the arcade asset reuse that drove MvC‘s creation.

Another Capcom vs. SNK, on the other hand, could easily see both companies being complicit in licensing a massive roster without dealing with rights issues. With Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite lacking X-Men due to issues outside the game’s development, for example, there are several core struggles that CvS3 would be able to avoid due to being in a prime position to possibly see most of its predecessor’s cast return.

SNK Might Be Ready for Another Shot at a Major Crossover

Difficulties have seen ups and downs for SNK after the missteps of SVC Chaos, but the company has rebounded in an impressive way since the release of King of Fighters 15. While Capcom might have its hands full with everything currently in production, it’s possible that SNK could take on the role of developing the next CvS by making it in line with the style of CoTW.

Comparing the 39-character base roster of KOF15 against the smaller cast of the more realistic SF6, it might be more sustainable for tackling a title that is following up the massive selection of fighters in the last Capcom vs. SNK. The upcoming Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will need time for its natural life cycle after release, but that doesn’t have to stop its developer from preparing to push its engine to its limits in the future.