Guilty Gear Strive has served as the flagship title for Arc System Works` long-running fighting game series since 2021, featuring four seasons of post-launch downloadable content. Its noticeable absence from the recent Arc System Works Showcase appears to be explained by a new report: the next installment in the Guilty Gear franchise is reportedly cancelled.
According to a report from Insider Gaming, citing anonymous sources, the planned successor to Guilty Gear Strive has been internally cancelled by Arc System Works. The report indicates the cancellation occurred recently, “within the last couple of weeks.” While the project is said to be “back to the drawing board,” the Insider Gaming article suggests the game is not completely abandoned.
This report emerges despite recent comments from series producer Ken Miyauchi. Speaking to Dexerto at Anime Expo, Miyauchi countered speculation that Strive would cease updates after Season Four, stating “that`s actually not true” and that the team is “preparing something big and exciting that people probably won`t expect,” suggesting future plans for the franchise beyond Strive`s current content.
While the specific future of the Guilty Gear series appears uncertain following this report, Arc System Works itself is actively developing and publishing other titles. Recent announcements include Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, a 4v4 fighting game featuring Marvel characters revealed during the last PlayStation State of Play, and a new Bubble Bobble game, among others shown at the Arc System Works Showcase.
Guilty Gear Strive is currently available on various platforms, including Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.