Capcom has faced off against the likes of Marvel, SNK and Bandai Namco characters in official Versus fighting games over the past nearly 30 years, but never against the house of Sonic the Hedgehog as of yet.
That’s why one dedicated fan has poured years of work into developing their own Sega vs. Capcom fighter to bring the gaming icons together in an unofficial space.
The developer Madxruler recently dropped his version 2.5 beta demo for Sega vs. Capcom: The Next Level offering up new characters, features and more.
Compared to when we looked at the first playable SvC demo, Street Fighter’s Ryu and Virtua Fighter’s Akira Yuki have been added to the roster along with the previously available Sonic and Mega Max X.
There’s also still slots on the character select screen for Morrigan, Batsu, Linn Kurosawa, Axel, Vyse and Sakura though they are not selectable yet.
Sonic Park, Metrco City Arcade, Suzaku Castle, Liberty Event, and Pumpkin Graveyard as a cross between Sonic Adventure 2 and Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts are all now stages that can be picked offering up some new options there too.
Character voices, new music and gameplay changes are all making this SvC passion project feel much more polished than before too, however, it’s clear there’s still much work to be done before it could be considered in a complete state.
Beta 2.5 also offers the ability to play against opponents online, but it seems you’ll have to download extra software and jump through some hoops to make that happen — so be cautious and aware of what you’re doing on that front.
This Sega vs. Capcom project was first teased all the way back in 2021 where Madxruler has continued to make slow but steady progress over the years to get it in a playable and presentable state.
Axel Stone (Streets of Rage)
2021 / Now pic.twitter.com/gu1kfRtbYB— SEGA VS CAPCOM: THE NEXT LEVEL (Ikemen GO Game) (@segavscapcom) January 2, 2025
And though he’s not playable yet, they event just showed off how much their working character model for Axel Stone has advanced over the past four years.
Fan mods and game projects are becoming pretty popular again in the fighting game space, especially with the recent release in probably the largest venture yet through Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite & Beyond.
Please note we are not advocating for the download of this associated software, and only install programs which you personally trust.
You can check out footage of the new Sega vs. Capcom beta in action below, and more information can be found on the project’s X / Twitter page.