Category: Entertainment & Lifestyle

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was effectively left behind by the developers and players years ago, but right now, things are looking perhaps more like the Field of Dreams for the game.

With the release of the anticipated Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond mod project yesterday, the modern black sheep of the crossover fighting game family is seeing a pretty massive surge in people jumping into MvCI.

Ever since February 2018, Infinite never averaged more than 50 players in the PC version of the game at any time, and you could count the amount of times it reached over 100 simultaneous users on one hand.

But thanks to the Beyond mod project’s launch, MvCI is currently surpassing numbers that haven’t been seen since the month after the game’s release all the way back in October 2017, over seven years ago.

In fact they’re even higher.

According to Steam Charts’ data, Marvel Infinite peaked at 1,202 players in that October on PC.

Last night, however, MvCI reached 1,270 players or maybe even as high as 1,322 if you go by SteamDB’s charts for the game.

Either way, that’s an increase of over 2,167% from the average of the previous month, which we’ve almost never seen for a fighting game before — and especially due to a mod.

And those are just the concurrent numbers, so the total number of players over the past day have likely been in the thousands.

The only times we’ve typically witnessed rather absurd percentage jumps like this came when some previous fighters were updated with rollback netcode in recent years.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R reached a new high peak back in 2020 that was technically an 18,103% increase since it went from an average of 12 players to hitting 2,330.

BlazBlue: Central Fiction also shot up just under 2,000% when it got rollback too.

Although Marvel Infinite’s 1,270 players is of course much lower than more modern titles like Street Fighter 6’s crazy 14,000 average over the past month and Tekken 8 hitting over 10,000 the past 24 hours, it is actually fairly close to Mortal Kombat 1’s current average of 1,505 users — so take that as you will.

And while it may not be beating those top dogs, this is crazy to see that a mod release could bring an abandoned title up around the top 5 or top 10 fighting games on Steam right now.

Even the newest release in the franchise, the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection only has a 205 peak for the past day and 100 average over the past month with an all-time high of 2,019.

The Marvel Infinite & Beyond mod received a lot more attention than your typical fan project in large part thanks to the endeavor being headed by top fighting game streamer Maximilian Dood, which led to a lot of publicity outside of the hardcore FGC.

This led to some concerns that the unofficial project could be shut down by Capcom and / or Disney/Marvel from the added eyes on the situation, but luckily they were able to release the first version of the Beyond mod to the wider public.

So now even if the companies do decide to step in at some point, the mod will have already been put out in the wild and in the hands of players where it would never fully disappear.

The team of almost 40 talented programmers, animators, artists, musicians and more are hopefully seeing these numbers and feeling some pride that their hard work is being enjoyed by thousands of people (and increasing Infinite’s overall Steam review rating along the way too).

While these mod launch numbers are certainly cool to see, it’ll be more important to see what the player count will look like after a week and a month or more for how many people stick around beyond the release weekend.

Even if Marvel Infinite drops back down to like an average of 100 users at a time, however, that still means the game would have grown
3–5 times than what it was before the mod and should be considered a win.

And even more if it helps inspire the rise of a new competitive MvC scene too.

It’ll be interesting to see if any future major updates to the Infinite & Beyond mod can produce similar jumps in player counts though we’ll have to wait and see on that.

If you want to get in on the action, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is still currently on sale on Steam for 80% off for both the base and Deluxe versions.

Image via Field of Dreams.

Bleach is not only back with the Thousand-Year Blood War anime, but the series is soon returning to the realm of video games too with a new fighter on the way.

During the Jump Fiesta 2025 event, Bandai Namco just announced Shinji Hirako as the latest playable character for Bleach Rebirth of Souls in a trailer that’s a bit different than most of the others.

After the recent reveals of Sosuke Aizen and Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, it appeared as though the launch roster of Rebirth of Souls may be complete, but that isn’t the case after all it seems.

The leader of the Vizards is also being included in the upcoming Bleach fighter as a playable character, and he’s of course here to try and settle the score with Aizen.

Instead of a large focus on his gameplay, much of the new trailer is geared towards Shinji’s appearance in the Story Mode fighting alongside Hiyori (though whether or not she’ll make the cut too remains to be seen), battling Grimmjow, showing off his hollow mask and stepping up to his former subordinate.

This could open the door to more Vizards joining the cast in the future though we have some doubts on that end beyond maybe Hiyori, Love and Rose.

We’re also keenly interested to see how Sakanade’s mind-flipping powers could be incorporated into a game like this, and things could get crazy if they try and keep him faithful to the anime / manga.

Some of that is at least being alluded to in the visuals on display here.

Shinji’s inclusion brings the playable roster up to at least 22 characters though there will likely be more reveals coming and of course the post-launch fighters being added later through DLC.

Bleach Rebirth of Souls is currently slated to release on March 21, 2025 for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

You can check out the full trailer for Shinji below.

Though it came with no new characters, the December patch for Street Fighter 6 ended up being a big one considering that every character received some changes. It can be argued that Ryu was one of the big winners of the latest update as he received some very noticeable buffs.

Fans frequently pay attention to BST|Daigo Umehara whenever Ryu gets major buffs in a Street Fighter entry since Daigo was able to make quite a name for himself using Ryu in Street Fighter 2 and Street Fighter 4. However, it would seem that Daigo is content with Akuma even though that combatant received a number of nerfs.

“Ryu? Sorry, I don’t really know,” responded Daigo during one of his livestreams. “He is stronger now. He fell so far and has been climbing back up all this time, so…”

The last time Ryu was considered top tier in Street Fighter was Season 1 of Street Fighter 5. It was also believed that Ryu could’ve been strong during the Street Fighter 6 beta period. Ultimately though, Ryu and his straightforward game plan continues to struggle even in Street Fighter 6.

“Right now, when I play Akuma, I’ve been relying on stuff like Drive Rush and Demon Raid, right?” continued Daigo when he was asked why he hadn’t returned to Ryu after the patch. “You can’t do that with Ryu. He has to make do with fireballs and footsies.”

Overall, the main reason why Daigo isn’t necessarily interested in playing Ryu is because he’s wanting to keep things fresh by playing Akuma. Daigo notes that he could’ve potentially been placing better at the beginning if he had just stuck with Guile after Street Fighter 5, but this might’ve resulted in him becoming bored with Street Fighter 6.

Check it all out in the video below:

The Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie hit theaters earlier this week. In celebration of this, Ben Schwartz, the voice actor for Sonic in the movies, recently spoke with Variety to talk about a number of things.

During this interview, Schwartz revealed his hopes for a Super Smash Bros. crossover movie. What’s interesting about this is that he was only asked about a potential Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Games adaption, but ended up talking about this Super Smash Bros. concept instead.

“What I really think could be bananas is if we get a ‘Super Smash Bros.’ spinoff, but that would take so many different studios being kind to each other at the same time,” said Schwartz. “But the idea that we get to build our own franchise that lives on its own, and we have so many characters within this franchise, that we can do three, four, five, six — that’s what I’m concentrating on and that’s what I love.”

“What I really think could be bananas is if we get a ‘Super Smash Bros.’ spinoff, but that would take so many different studios being kind to each other at the same time.” — Ben Schwartz

Such a crossover would certainly be comparable to the Avengers movies present in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Schwartz himself would obviously be onboard with this sort of idea, he does not that he would require permission if such a thing were to come up.

“If you want to have a battle royale with a bunch of people we all love in video games, because I’m a video game nerd, I would not be against it,” continued Schwartz. “I would see if Paramount would let me go play.”

It’s then pointed out that Nintendo is already working on a “Legend of Zelda” film. Schwartz believes that this could be another piece of the puzzle needed to make this dream a reality.

“We’re getting closer. There’s a ‘Pikachu’ [Detective Pikachu] movie that already exists,” said Schwarts. “So if you can get all these studios that oftentimes compete with each other to make the same movie and somehow split the profits, that would be wonderful.”

“So if you can get all these studios that oftentimes compete with each other to make the same movie and somehow split the profits, that would be wonderful.” — Ben Schwartz

As many of us already know, Illumination did reportedly pitch a Super Smash Bros. movie to Nintendo after The Super Mario Bros. Movie became one of the highest grossing animated movies of all time. Unfortunately, it’s unknown whether or not this proposal was considered or not by Nintendo.

Many studios have taken notice of the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though many have tried to replicate this crossover formula, none of them have been successful thus far.

Needless to say, the concept of a Super Smash Bros. movie has been on the mind of fans considering the sudden success of movies like Sonic the Hedgehog and The Super Mario Bros. movie. Before these films were dropped, video game movie adaptions have notoriously been reviewed poorly in most cases.

Who knows if this sort of thing can actually happen though considering the amount of collaboration that would be needed between these studios. We’ll have to see if this idea is ever actually able to manifest in the future.

Cheating is, unfortunately, becoming more prominent in fighting games as online becomes more pronounced. Earlier this year, Broski covered how to identify and beat cheaters in Street Fighter 6.

Brian_F had a suspicious encounter with a player during his ranked session. Every time Brian_F used Terry Bogard’s Burn Knuckle, the opponent would counter either with a Drive Impact or Drive Reversal, even in situations where it didn’t make sense.

There were those that immediately called Brian_F out after he concluded that his opponent was using some sort of script. Of course, there have certainly been instances of players being falsely accused of cheating from prominent figures, but Brian_F was willing to back up his statements with evidence.

First off, it should be noted that the average human’s reaction time is about a quarter of a second, which amounts to about 15 frames in a fighting game that runs 60 frames per second. This player was using Drive Impact and Drive Reversal within about four frames of Terry’s Burn Knuckle about every single time.

While it could be argued that the alleged cheater was simply good at reading Brian_F, the consistency of their inputs doesn’t seem possible for a human. It’s also funny to note that Brian_F was able to point out instances of these inputs triggering even when they were caught in a combo involving Burn Knuckle.

Based on everything outlined in the video, it does seem very likely that a script was inputting Drive Impact whenever the opponent attempted to use Burn Knuckle. Brian_F is able to showcase how this can be determined by looking at the replays.

Check it all out below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDg6n0wGF0

Although not literally blind anymore

Fatal Fury’s story is finally picking back up after 25 years, and we’re seeing some characters really change up their looks compared to the last time we saw them in the series.

SNK just revealed Gato as the latest playable character for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves via a new gameplay trailer showing off how his design and approach to fighting has changed.

Gato was one of the many new additions made to the roster in Garou: Mark of the Wolves who never got to see their story progress beyond one game.

At the end of his arcade run in Garou, Gato was seemingly blinded by a man believed to be his father, whom the fighter was seeking vengeance against for the death of his mother.

It appears they’re continuing that story here in the new Fatal Fury, as Gato now fights with his eyes closed.

Although he seemingly regained much of his actual sight by the time City of the Wolves’ plot begins, Gato now chooses to fight in complete darkness as to no longer be slowed down by the light.

That change is also reflected in his new design as well with Gato ditching his yellow / orange Chinese martial arts attire for black and gold.

He’s also got a new haircut and facial hair to go along with the fact that he fights with his eyes closed now.

Gato joins the club of Fatal Fury characters who’ve received a design makeover for City of the Wolves, however, they’d mostly focused on classic fighters like Mai Shiranui and Billy Kane before while the Garou cast only had more minor updates.

Since Gato marks the 13th character announced for Fatal Fury’s return, that means there’s still four more to go to reach the launch roster of 17.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is slated to release on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S and PC on April 24, 2025.

You can check out the new trailer and screenshots for Gato below.

Click images for larger versions

Whenever there is a winner in Super Smash Bros., there must also be at least one loser. For some people, intense emotions can emerge when they fail, even if it comes from something as simple as playing a video game. Funnily enough, there’s even a parody music video out there that pays homage to these sort of players.

Poppt1 recently decided to react to an older video that showcases some of the saltiest moments we’ve seen throughout the history of the Super Smash Bros. series. Unfortunately, some controllers were in fact harmed during the making of the original compilation.

During the video, Poppt1 recounts a few experiences that he’s seen in which emotions ran a little high after an intense match. After these players break their controllers in front of everybody, is it really any wonder why nobody would want to lend them their own controller?

In any event, a lot of the players seen in the video aren’t just throwing their controllers, they’re outright spiking them off the ground. You wouldn’t think these devices would be capable of bouncing quite as high as they do in the clips.

It’s important to mention that these sort of interactions can often result in someone getting banned from a tournament series. Those that aren’t careful may also end up losing a few friends along the way.

With all of that in mind, it’s fortunate that the Smash community has generally mellowed out over the years. These type of intense situations are far less common than they used to be.

Check it all out below:

The time has finally come. The massive Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite & Beyond mod is now officially available for download.

Fans have been excitedly awaiting its arrival today, and the team behind the impressive project has just taken to Twitter to inform everyone that you can get it, free of charge, right now.

Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite & Beyond is a labor of love spearheaded by popular content creator Maximilian. With nearly 40 people working on it for over 8 months, and a lot of money put into its development, the major mod for the 2017 Versus series title is now ready for the masses to give it a whirl.

This mod, as mentioned before, is available completely for free. It adds a complete visual overhaul giving the game a brighter and more stylized look, adds new balance changes, new modes, music, fan art, and more.

The official website for the mod has two download links that you can choose between, and it also lays out very clear instructions on how to install it for yourself. A couple of important notes before we dive into that, though.

In order to utilize the Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite & Beyond mod, you must first own a copy of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite on Steam. You will also have to remove any other mod files you might currently have for MvCI before trying to install and run Beyond.

Here’s how to install the Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite & Beyond mod:

How do I install Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite & Beyond?

• Purchase Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite on Steam.

• Download Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite & Beyond from one of the links above.

• Unzip the file. You can use the built-in Windows unzipping tool, or your favorite archiver software (such as the fully free and open source program 7zip). Do not rearrange any of the files or folders inside.

• Open Steam, right-click on your MVCI installation, and select “Browse local files.”

• Remove any previous betas or mods associated with Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite & Beyond. Other pre-existing mods may impact stability. Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite & Beyond has not been tested with any existing mods.

• Drag and drop the unzipped MVCI folder from Step 2 into this location. Your operating system will automatically merge the new files.

• Open MVCI and enjoy!

In any fighting game — whether it be competitive, arena, party, or whatever — that has different selectable characters with unique abilities, there will always be an inevitable best in the game. If each fighter on the roster isn’t exactly the same, then it’s natural that there will be at least one character at the end of the day who is better than everyone else, even if by the slightest margin.

We have talked a lot about top tiers in the competitive fighting games we know and love a ton over the years, but how about those that exist in some of the less competitive titles? A new video from content creator Bumbles McFumbles takes a deep dive into the “silliest” top tiers to ever exist, and based on some of the games they appear in, there’s a good chance you never knew about most of them.

McFumbles starts by fully acknowledging the top tiers in mainstay competitive fighting game franchises like Street Fighter, Tekken, King of Fighters, and the like. But the video quickly veers off into discussing the games that aren’t as competitive, but still have very clear (and in some cases extremely broken) top tiers in them.

There are some absolute deep cuts in this video, and a handful of games that I’ve never even heard of, but this deep dive ends up being a very interesting watch.

Before there was Sparking Zero, there was its predecessor Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, and as McFumbles explains this title had and still has a surprisingly large scene that does actually play it as competitively as it can be played. We learn about the top tiers in this game, which includes usual suspects such as Perfect Cell, Broly, Gogeta, and more, but there’s one in particular that is actually so wild when you really put them into context.

Apparently, Super Trunks in Tenkaichi 3 is almost a useless character in nearly every regard on the competitive front. However, he has a single saving grace that actually leads to him being used quite a bit at high levels.

Because Super Trunks is a super transformation, he begins each battle with an extra bar of energy meter (3 instead of 2), and it is for this reason that he ends up being top tier. The strategy basically sees Super Trunks selected to start with the extra bar, then he transforms down into regular Trunks — who is actually one of the best characters in the game — and now you have this version of Trunks with a whole extra bar of meter to start making him even better.

There are some other really interesting characters and games discussed here, such as Shrek Super Slam, which is an arena style fighter that has mechanics reminiscent of the Super Smash Bros. series and some surprisingly intricate and complex maneuvers and abilities in it.

You can check out the full video of the silliest top tiers in fighting games below.