Two more players invited to Summit of Power

The number of players confirmed for Beyond the Summit's upcoming Dragon Ball FighterZ invitational event has risen to six with the announcement of Kazunoko and Chris G.

In promotional art for the event, Chris G is depicted as Trunks while Kazunoko appears as Adult Gohan. They will join Go1, SonicFox, Nakkiel and Dogura as players handpicked by BTS for its competition.

There are still two invited players that have not been revealed by BTS, and three qualifier spots—one at both Next Level Battle Circuit and Wednesday Night Fights, with a third at Combo Breaker 2018—which will allow a winning player to earn a place at the Summit.

Beyond the Summit has not announced how the remaining five entries to the 16-player Summit of Power will be decided at this time. The Summit will take place on June 9-10, 2018, with a prize pool of $10,000 for competitors.

SNK Heroines adds Shermie, game release on Sept. 7, 2018

During the SNK panel at PAX EAST 2018, the company revealed Shermie as the newest playable character in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, as well as the game's release date.

Shermie comes to Heroines with many of her classic King of Fighters moves. Her inclusion marks her first playable appearance in a SNK fighter since NEO GEO Battle Coliseum, which was released in 2005.

Readers can check Shermie's trailer, which also detailed the game's September 2018 release, below. SNK Heroines will release for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch consoles on Sept. 7, 2018.

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Blue Mary, KOF XIV version 3.00 arrive on April 12, 2018

SNK has revealed the last of four new DLC characters coming to King of Fighters XIV as well the release date for those characters and the game's update. 

Blue Mary and her sambo-based fighting style will join Najd, Heidern and Oswald as new entrants to the title when version 3.00 becomes available on April 12. Version 3.00 will also include character balance adjustments, but SNK has currently not made those alterations public.

Readers can watch Mary's trailer after the jump. SNK has provided no details on the cost of the new characters, but previous DLC Rock, Yamazaki, Whip and Vanessa sold for $5.99 each or as a bundle for $19.99.

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ProWrestlingTees to discontinue Tekken shirts, Devil Jin y Naito available

The shirt designs featuring collaboration artwork from New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Tekken will soon no longer be sold by ProWrestlingTees.

In a tweet on April 2, the retailer made it known that the Tekken items would be removed from the store, and on April 4 announced they will end sales in 60 days.

Items that will be removed from PWT include the original Bullet Club x Tekken and Rainmaker x Tekken designs; the Kenny Omega x Bryan Fury shirt and bandana; and the new Devil Jin y Naito Los Ingobernables de Japon art.

Buyers interested in picking up these items before they are gone will be able to take advantage of the company's Wrestlemania sale, which will offer 20 percent off on purchases from April 5 through April 9.

Senko no Ronde 2 physical edition coming from Limited Run Games

The sequel to G.Rev's mash-up of fighting games and shoot-em-ups will be seeing a physical release for PlayStation 4.

Starting on April 13, 2018, publisher Degica Games and Limited Run Games will team up to offer the title in both a standard $49.99 and a $99.99 collector's edition that comes with an artbook, an asset viewer DVD and the official soundtrack. Both versions will come with reversible cover art.

Limited Run Games has not stated at the time how many copies will be made available for purchase. The company's production run often fluctuates based on perceived demand for each individual title. 

Senko no Ronde 2 first launched as a digital title for Steam and the PS4 in early September 2017.

Nakkiel signs with Panda Global

The recent flurry of FGC signings refuses to slow down, as Derek "Nakkiel" Bruscas revealed himself as the latest addition to Panda Global during NorCal Regionals 2018.

Bruscas is a longtime veteran of anime fighting games, at times considered one of the strongest players in the U.S. at BlazBlue and a top contender in Guilty Gear Xrd. He has currently set his sights on being the best in Arc System Works' newest title, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and placed seventh at NCR.

"I'm excited to be a part of Panda Global and a teammate to so many strong players and wonderful people, including one of my best friends Jachin 'SKD' Harte," Bruscas said in an interview with ESPN esports. "I've been working hard towards this goal, and I'll keep going to be one of the best DBFZ players around."

Nakkiel is yet another major signee from fighting games within the last 30 days. He joins Infiltration as part of Panda Global; Kizzie Kay, Cloud805 and Qudans were added to the UYU roster; Team Liquid picked up Nemo and John Takeuchi; and Echo Fox signed Punk.

New balance changes arrive for Season 3 of Street Fighter V on April 3

With Capcom Pro Tour 2018 underway, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition will be receiving a new update that looks to change how players approach the rest of the season.

On April 3, 2018, Capcom will roll out a patch affecting all 30 characters in SFV. While some like F.A.N.G., R. Mika and Birdie have only a few changes to their gameplay, some fighters such as Zeku and Sakura have extensive lists of alterations. There are also new system-wide changes to crush counter scaling, as well as small tweaks to throw damage and recovery.

Readers can check out the list of changes at Capcom Unity.

Sanane, Hayate, DLC plans announced for Fighting EX Layer

On April 1 in Japan, one year after Arika revealed the then-unnamed Fighting EX Layer, the company has revealed two new characters and the possibility of more.

A new trailer the developer has announced Sanane and Hayate for the game. Hayate first appeared in Street Fighter EX2, while Sanane is a brand new character that seems to be based on that game's Nanase.

In addtion, Arika's president and CEO Akira Nishitani mentioned that he would like to add more characters to the game as DLC after release if the game sells enough copies to warrant the new fighters. He then showed updated renditions of Area, Sharon, Vulcano Rosso and Pullum Purna.

Readers can check out the trailer showing off the new characters and Nishitani's statement after the jump. Fighting EX Layer is schedule for release in June 2018.

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Echo Fox adds Punk to its roster

The most dominant team in fighting games has added another star to its roster with the signing of Victor "Punk" Woodley.

Woodley was one of the strongest Street Fighter V players during 2017, with wins at NorCal Regionals, Dreamhack Austin and West Coast Warzone, along with second-place finishes at CEO and Evolution 2017. His Karin play has consistently been at the highest level, with a focus on strong poking and whiff-punishing.

"We're honored to have Victor "Punk" Woodley, one of the most exciting names in the fighting games genre, join our Echo Fox family," said team founder Rick Fox. "I'm confident his talent will continue to solidify our position as one of the leading esports organizations across genres, and will strengthen our roster."

Punk's first event as part of Echo Fox will be the sight of one of his 2017 victories, as he will attend NorCal Regionals 2018 in Sacramento, California, on March 30 through April 1.

CD Projekt discusses bringing Geralt of Rivia to Soul Calibur VI

In a new video from Bandai Namco, members of The Witcher's development studio talk about transporting their character into the world of fighting games.

The short video describes who Geralt is, what the team hopes to accomplish as he moves into a new genre of game and the challenges they have encountered in trying to transition him to a new platform. They also discuss how Geralt's Soul Calibur VI appearance could easily be seen as an extension of The Witcher's ongoing story.

Readers can check out the video after the jump.

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Welcome the night with new Darkstalkers costumes for Street Fighter V

Street Fighter V will reintroduce "the children of the night" as it offers three skins inspired by the Darkstalkers series of titles starting on April 3, 2018.

A fighting game comprised of horror-movie-inspired characters, Darkstalkers (known as the Vampire series in Japan) spawned five titles in the 1990s as well as compilations and remakes.

Menat, Urien and Juri will each take the role of one of the series' characters: Menat references Khaibit and Anakaris, Juri dresses as Lilith and Urien becomes Donovan Baine.

Each skin will be sold separately and cost players $3.99. For more information, players can check out Capcom Unity.

UYU signs Cloud805, Kizzie Kay

UYU has added two more players to its roster with the additions of Jonathan "Cloud805" Morales and Keenan "Kizzie Kay" Kizzie.

Morales was the 2017 Battle for the Stones champion in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, as well as a player with many tournament victories in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Kizzie, meanwhile, has posted victories in major tournaments for both BlazBlue and Guilty Gear Xrd in recent years.

While dominant players in their own right, both players have now set their sights on the burgeoning Dragon Ball FighterZ scene with hopes to prove their strength across titles. Morales is scheduled to attend the upcoming NorCal Regionals 2018, while Kizzie is in the brackets for this year's Anime Ascension event.

Morales and Kizzie are the two most recent acquisitions of UYU, a team that has been adding players from all games across the fighting game community. Before these signings, UYU had most recently signed 2017 Tekken World Tour champion Qudans. 

AnimEvo 2018 lineup announced

AnimEvo has announced the 19 games that will be a part of its event during Evolution 2018.

Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code, Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late[st], Gundam Versus, Hokuto no Ken, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R, Koihime Enbu, The King of Fighters XIV, Samurai Shodown V Special, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Blazblue: Central Fiction, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Puyopuyo Tetris, Catherine, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Arcana Heart 3 Love Max Six Stars!!!!!!, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, Vampire Savior and Yatagarasu Attack on Cataclysm will all be side tournaments run by the community in Las Vegas.

Registration is not currently open, but the staff behind AnimEvo has put out a call for game suggestions, as well as a call for volunteers that can be found on Google Documents.

For more information as it becomes available, players can check out the official AnimEvo website or message AnimEvo on Twitter. AnimEvo takes place on Aug. 3-5, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Blastoise aims to drench opponents in Pokkén Tournament DX

The classic cannon-bearing turtle Pokémon has joined the Switch version Pokkén Tournament as part of the second wave of Battle Pack DLC.

Blastoise is water-type Pokémon that fights with attacks like Rapid Spin, Hydro Pump and Bubble. It is joined in wave two by support Pokémon Mew and Celebi.

Readers can view Blastoise's trailer after the jump. Pokkén Tournament's Battle Pack DLC is currently on sale for $14.99 and also features wave one, consisting of battle Pokémon Aegislash along with supports Mega Rayquaza and Mimikyu.

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Take combos further beyond with hit stun exploit in Dragon Ball FighterZ

A recently uncovered exploit in DBFZ is allowing players to create infinite or near-infinite combo situations with Captain Ginyu.

It seems that any combo that starts with the Eraser Gun attack from Recoome has its hit stun scaling removed, effectively allowing situations where infinites are possible because the opposing character is never allowed to tech out.

Players such as Yohosie are already compiling lists of characters that can take advantage of the situation, and others like Rikir are showing its practical application (with Yamcha).

As this is likely an oversight of the assist's properties, it may get patched in a future update to the game like Ginyu's super glitch was in February. For now, however, players should be wary of the orange-haired Ginyu Force member.

Najd shows off her mysterious powers in new King of Fighters XIV trailer

SNK has released a new gameplay trailer for the fan-designed Najd, who will be part of DLC coming to King of Fighters XIV in April 2018.

A college student by day, Najd uses her special powers to protect her fellow citizens at night. From the short trailer, it seems Najd has a counter of some kind as well as a fast-moving flying knee attack. She also has three different supers.

Readers can check out the trailer after the jump. Najd joins Heidern, Oswald and one still-unrevealed character as part of the second wave of KOF XIV downloadable content in April 2018.

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Broly, Bardock join Dragon Ball FighterZ on March 28

The first two DLC characters joining DBFZ will land just before the end of March 2018.

Bandai Namco Europe announced the date along with a short trailer for Bardock, which shows the father of Goku performing some of his signature attacks like the Final Spirit Cannon and Revenger. The company also said players should expect "dramatic scenes and fun discussions between the Saiyan warrior and Frieza."

Readers can check out the clip after the jump. No individual pricing for each of the characters has revealed at this time.

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Capcom Pro Tour 2018 downloadable content revealed

Sakura and Akuma will be getting new outfits as part of the 2018 Capcom Pro Tour DLC.

According to Famitsu, the two will be launching with the DLC's release on April 4, 2018. They will be joined later in the year by the Ring of Power stage, featuring a Shadowloo theme, and the Birdie costume created by Capcom Cup 2017 champion MenaRD.

In addition, those who purchase the Capcom Pro Tour DLC pass will receive 5,000 Fight Money, five special titles, two themes, additional challenges, new colors for the whole cast, all three costumes and the stage. Prices for North American consumers are not yet available, but the Pro Tour Pass will cost Japanese buyers 2,000 yen, while individual costumes will run 600 yen each.

Infiltration joins Panda Global

At Final Round 2018, Lee "Infiltration" Seon-woo revealed that he has joined Panda Global.

Infiltration is a multiple-time Evolution champion across several games, most recently winning Street Fighter V at Evo Japan 2018.

According to Panda Global CEO Alan Bunney, "Infiltration's work ethic, dynamic personality and incredible skill fit Panda Global perfectly, and we already feel like he's one of us for how well we get along."

Infiltration will retain his sponsorship from Monster Energy. He was previously part of Team GRAPHT before leaving the team in February 2018.

Readers can check out Panda Global's announcement video after the jump.

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Aegis, Jubei, Carmine announced for BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle

The second of six DLC character packs for the upcoming Arc System Works crossover game has been unveiled.

Persona 4's Aegis, BlazBlue's Jubei and Under Night's Carmine will be coming to the game, bringing with them their signature moves and playstyles. Much like the first DLC pack, this second reveal also includes one character from each franchise, which may be a trend for the remaining four.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is scheduled to add 20 characters as DLC, including the free Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. There will be six DLC packs of three characters each, which will cost players $4.99 or they can purchase all DLC together for $19.99. Readers can check out the trailer after the jump.

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