Arc System Works creates some of the best fighting games in the business. From Dragon Ball FighterZ to Guilty Gear Strive to the recently released DNF Duel, the studio has no shortage of great fighting games.
However, aside from well-known titles like Dragon Ball FighterZ, when you’re traveling outside the hardcore fighting game audience, especially in the West, the studio’s offerings are relatively niche. Arc System Works CEO Minoru Kidooka wants to change that.
At EVO 2022, IGN spoke with Kidooka, who said that in the past, Arc System Works has been very passive in working with other IPs, with IP holders being the ones who made offers to them to collaborate. Kidooka wants to change that attitude. Going forward, Kidooka said the studio plans to be less reactive in pursuing collaboration opportunities. Specifically, Kidooka wants Arc System Works to make games that resonate with Western audiences. Whether that means a license with global appeal like Dragon Ball, or a partnership with a franchise that originated in the West remains to be seen.
“We need to expand the fight [game] Kidooka told IGN. “In the future, if we have such an opportunity, we will actively push to work with new IP owners.”
Longer term, Kidooka’s dream is to develop a new Arc System Works IP planned and developed in the United States.
In addition to Dragon Ball, Arc System Works has worked with many different IP owners in the past on games like Azur Lane, Persona, One Piece, and more. But the studio’s next step could be to work with the company to create a new fighting game featuring characters with Western appeal.
However, even with the expanded focus on partnerships, Arc System Works hasn’t given up on its original franchise. Guilty Gear Strive is still early in its life cycle, as for BlazBlue?
“I have a plan,” Onioka said. His first priority is to expand Guilty Gear Strive, but beyond that, he’s constantly thinking about a new generation of fighting games, and BlazBlue could be a part of that. He also said there are plenty of possibilities for BlazBlue IP in genres other than fighting games.
For more fighting game news from EVO, check out the new Fatal Fury game announced by SNK, the rollback netcode for Dragon Ball FighterZ, and PlayStation’s EVO investigation on NFTs.
