Type: report on a live stage event at TGS 2025.
On September 25, 2025, a special stage at SEGA's Tokyo Game Show booth revealed new battle rules for the new Virtua Fighter.
The stage featured producer Riichiro Yamada, battle director Yosuke Takeda, and pro gamer Tokido.
Tokido asked questions at key moments while watching footage, and the developers answered them as the session went on.
Two new battle rules: Standard and Uprising
According to Takeda, two battle rules are being prepared: "Standard" and "Uprising."
Standard is the series' traditional rule, decided by depleting health or a ring-out.
Uprising is an entirely new rule built around the concept of a "comeback," positioned as equal in status to Standard rather than a bonus mode. Specific details were not revealed at this time.
New systems: only an overview at this stage
The stage also introduced three new systems — Flow Guard, Break & Rush, and Stunner & stun combos — but only at an overview level.
Yamada said Break & Rush was "designed to be easy for beginners and spectators to understand," and that Stunner and stun combos were meant to "remove the barrier for beginners who needed to confirm a counter hit, while keeping the reality of a real fight."
These systems were explained in much more depth in the developer interview published the following day, September 26, which is worth reading alongside this report.
Stage details confirmed through Tokido's questions
Tokido's questions also revealed a few details about presentation.
The stage with a rising floor is exclusive to training mode, and can reproduce rings of various sizes.
Dodging an attack with a head spring or sway-back automatically triggers a close-up slow-motion shot, with no special input required.
The KO presentation is internally called the "Signature Cut" by the development team, and its content changes depending on which body part was hit with which move at the moment of KO.
Q&A on modern controls
Tokido asked whether a simplified control scheme (modern controls) was planned.
Yamada answered, "I think it will become necessary," citing how Virtua Fighter was originally designed around arcade cabinets and stressing the need for a system built around gamepads.
He said a back-input guard option could be offered, while also showing some caution from the development side about it.
Responding to Tokido's final question, Yamada said he wants to "make a title that goes beyond the fighting game genre and can be called a social phenomenon."
What this stage did not confirm
The specific rules of Uprising, part-damage numbers, and the detailed specifications of modern controls were not revealed at this time.
The price was also not disclosed beyond the 2027 release window.
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