EVO 2025 combat gameplay first look: the New VF Project’s first official match footage
Type: a summary of SEGA’s official portal post, the official YouTube clip, and EVO 2025 coverage. This is not a confirmed system breakdown.
On August 4, 2025, SEGA unveiled the first official combat gameplay footage from New VIRTUA FIGHTER Project at EVO 2025 in Las Vegas.
The Virtua Fighter official portal presented it as a first look at the next game’s combat system through a visceral fight between two of the series’ iconic characters.
The project had already been announced at The Game Awards 2024 as a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio production (related article).
It differs in nature from the January CES pre-development concept clip (related article).
What the official video states
The official YouTube description calls the clip the “first official look at gameplay,” premiered at EVO VEGAS 2025.
The title is Combat Gameplay First Look - Training Stage, and the focus is a one-on-one exchange in a training stage.
VGC described a roughly one-minute clip with no music and no HUD, identifying the fighters as Akira and Sarah Bryant.
The official portal text did not name the characters, referring only to two of the series’ iconic characters.
Game Informer called it a no-frills teaser that still showed the fluidity and technicality fans expect.
How it differs from the CES concept
VGC reminded readers that the January clip carried a disclaimer calling it pre-development engine footage and not actual gameplay.
This release is framed by SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio as the first official look at gameplay.
Even so, a short edited promo cannot by itself confirm final inputs, rules or balance behind every animation.
Yamada’s comments around EVO
In an IGN interview recorded the day before the trailer and published on August 6, producer Riichiro Yamada said the combat presentation shown in earlier concept footage was about 70% there visually.
He said the next day’s EVO reveal would let him show the current state more clearly.
The conversation also turned to fluid guarding that tracks individual attacks, and Yamada again stressed innovation and reality.
He described that reality as closer to kung-fu-movie combat than a UFC-style recreation.
What this material did not confirm
The final title, platforms and release date were still unannounced.
The official portal said more combat detail would follow on stage at the SEGA/ATLUS booth during Tokyo Game Show 2025 (September 25–28).
The footage alone cannot confirm system names such as Flow Guard or the full input scheme.
Fan frame-by-frame discussion right after release is covered separately (related article).
Original sources and official video