Knee signs with ROX Gaming

Korean esports team ROX Gaming is stepping into the fighting game community with its signing of Tekken veteran Jaemin "Knee" Bae.

Knee has long been a dominant player in the worldwide Tekken scene, with victories and high placements across several versions of the game. His most recent accomplishment was a third place result in Tekken 7 at Evolution 2017.

"We were impressed with Knee’s consistent level of play and his ability to perform at the highest level for over a decade now. With the Tekken World Tour being announced this year, it was a no brainer (sic) to pick him up to represent our organization. His personality, skill level, and class all align with the ideals that ROX instills in its players and teams,” said Eliot Namgung, director of esports for ROX Gaming, in a statement. 

In the past, ROX Gaming has been best-known for its successful ROX Tigers League of Legends team. It will be interesting to see if this is only the club's first step into the fighting game world.

Android 17 confirmed for DBFZ by English voice actor?

The answer to an unrelated fan question may have just revealed the newest character in Dragon Ball FighterZ.

According to Twitter user MidshipGuitar, Android 17's English voice actor Chuck Huber was answering questions as Florida Supercon event when he was asked if he had done lines for a hopeful upcoming appearance in the Dragon Ball Super anime.

"I haven't done Dragon Ball Super, but I have done my lines for FighterZ," Huber responded. When told the character had not been officially announced for the game, Huber simply said "whoops."

While this news doesn't guarantee anything, it seems like a good bet that 17 will be unveiled at some point as a playable character in DBFZ. It also means that players will be getting English voice acting from the same cast as the anime, which has been a desire of many since the game was announced.

Those in the U.S. wanting to get their hands on Dragon Ball FighterZ will be able to sign up for the game's beta on Aug. 22, while players in Europe will get the chance on Aug. 22-26 at Gamescom where the game will be playable at the Bandai Namco booth.

Red Bull Proving Grounds fall 2017 season to culminate in Chicago

Although the Red Bull Proving Grounds fall season has just begun, players now know where it will end: Chicago, Illinois.

Joe's Live in the suburb of Rosemont will play host to the finals of RBPG season as the event will be open to spectators for the first time on Oct. 21, 2017. 

For those unfamiliar with the RBPG, the competition starts with three separate event dates across 11 regions, where players compete in single-player tournaments for points. At the end of those qualifiers, the top three players in each region form a team—with one team coming from online events—that will compete in the final event. The finals are a one-day tournament where teams face off in a roun-robin format, with the best overall teams of the west and east coast divisions playing to determine a champion.

Prizes for the fall season of RBPG include $6,000 as well as airfare, lodging and entry into Red Bull Battle Grounds 2017 for the winning team and airfare for rest of the top eight placers on the winning region's leaderboard.

Readers can head to the official site for more information on Proving Grounds and check out the fall season trailer after the jump.

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Kenny Omega x Bryan Fury shirt available at ProWrestlingTees

The latest product in the collaboration between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Bandai Namco's Tekken franchise is now available in the U.S.

The Kenny Omega x Bryan Fury shirt features a modified Bullet Club graphic on the front, with the cartoonish skull and crossbones replaced by the fanged skull of Bryan's mask with its tongue sticking out and machine guns crossed. The back features a rendering of Omega as Fury with his trademark "goodbye and good night" phrase.

The shirt retails for $34.99. It is the fourth offering from PWT, as the company also offers Bullet Club x Tekken and Rain Maker x Tekken King designs as well as a Bullet Club x Tekken bandana.

King of Fighters 2000 coming to Switch

Another of SNK's classic KOF games will soon be available on the Nintendo Switch's online shop.

According to Siliconera, The King of Fighters 2000 will join KOF '98, '94 and '99 as the fourth game in the series that players can purchase digitally for the Switch when it releases Aug. 10, 2017. It is another selection in Hamster's Arcade Archives NeoGeo line of classic titles.

The King of Fighters 2000 introduces the Active Striker System, a type of assist that not only adds another layer to the game's strategy but also allowed SNK to add cameos of many fan-favorite characters.

Like all the other ACA NeoGeo titles, The King of Fighters 2000 will retail for $7.99 in the U.S.

Five monstrous Ultimates join Killer Instinct on Aug. 22

The rolling out of Ultimates for the cast of Killer Instinct will come to a close in August 2017 as Aganos, Mira, Sabrewulf, Hisako and Glacius get their finishing flourish.

The members of the Ultimates Monster Pack will be the last five characters to be given Ultimates according to Iron Galaxy's original plan of 15 characters receiving the finisher. As with all other Ultimates, the Monster Pack will be free of charge.

Readers can check out the Ultimates for Aganos and Mira after the jump, while the remaining three will be revealed in the weeks leading up to release.

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Skullgirls' Limited Run Games releases near completion

There is good news for players waiting on the Limited Run Games physical editions of Skullgirls for PlayStation 4 and Vita.

In an email sent to buyers, LRG has confirmed that the PS4 edition of Skullgirls has been sent to manufacturing and that once completed—hopefully by late September—the company will be able to begin sending out copies of the completed package. The Vita version, meanwhile, has been given to Sony for certification with hopes that it will pass and move on to production.

This is good news for both the developers and consumers, as Skullgirls' path to physical production has been fraught with delays, from issues with Sony guidelines to the slow-moving processes of licensing Japanese voice acting and continued testing for the release. The physical products were originally hoped to be in the hands of gamers in early 2017.

With any luck, Skullgirls should finally be in the hands of gamers in a few months.

New introductory video shows off Jubei gameplay in BBCF 2.0

Arc System Works has released a new video breaking down BlazBlue Central Fiction 2.0's new character Jubei, who releases to arcades on Aug. 3.

The eight-minute video shows off Jubei's special moves, drive ability and other quirks specific to Jubei in BBCF 2.0. Jubei can side switch characters with his normal dash, has catch counters and according to Hiago also suffers from additional hitstun because he is small and "hard to catch." 

Although the new video is in Japanese, many players will be able to get the big ideas from watching the action on the screen. Readers can check out the footage after the jump.

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Magnetro teases new video with "Chaos Dimension" trailer

Storied Marvel vs. Capcom 2 combo creator Magnetro is putting out a new video in November 2017.

Named "Chaos Dimension," the video will continue to exploit the MvC2 engine and create unbelievable scenarios like those found in Magnetro's other works.

Commenting on the trailer for his new work on YouTube, Magnetro said he had walked away from fighting games altogether after "Variable Atmosphere 2" but that talking to Japanese combo maker Izumojin and learning to use a PlayStation 2 emulator changed things.

"When I saw how easy [using the emulator] made the content-creation process, I decided to pursue the ideas I had back in 2010," he said.

For now, viewers will have to wonder what Magnetro has in store, as "Chaos Dimension" releases on Nov. 6, 2017. Readers can check out the trailer after the jump.

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Firebrand, Dormammu confirmed for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

The star of Demon's Crest and one of Doctor Strange's most formidable foes are returning in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

The news comes from the official Marvel vs. Capcom Facebook page, which claims the two characters will be joining the fight in MvCI and that the first gameplay footage of both will be available at Germany's Gamescom trade show on Aug. 22, 2017.

Firebrand and Dormammu are scheduled to appear on a new variant cover of Marvel's Spider-Man/Deadpool #20 as part of a cross-promotional push for MvCI by Capcom and the comics giant.

Both Firebrand and Dormammu make their return from the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 series, as Dormammu was part of the game's original cast and Firebrand was added as part of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Super Desperation Radio episode 624 archive online

The latest (and last?) episode of Super Desperation Radio is now available for watching on Team Spooky's YouTube channel.

After several weeks off, SDR came back just to say goodbye! The crew talked about the many different announcements at Evolution 2017 along with the upcoming months of fighting game anticipation and releases.

The members also announced that Super Desperation Radio will be going on hiatus, as the different members move on to new unannounced projects. SDR thanked members past and present for their contributions to the show as the gang rode off into the sunset for now.

Super Desperation Radio has been live every Monday at 6:30 p.m. PDT on Team Spooky, and episodes are archived at the TS YouTube channel. Many classic episodes can still be found on the IPLAYWINNER YouTube.

Injustice 2 update brings balance changes, Bizarro, tournament shaders

The August update is now live for Injustice 2, and it has brought a bevy of changes to the cast along with some optional content for players.

First, the title's balance has been updated with the changes first discussed by NetherRealm Studios on July 25. These alterations include game-changing tweaks to characters like Aquaman, Black Canary, Brainiac and more along with smaller fixes to many others. The detailed change list can be found on the WB Games community site.

The other new additions are a Bizarro skin for Superman and tournament shaders for all characters in the game. These gold-plated outfits can be purchased using Source Crystals, with money from crystal purchases supporting "esports and community events." The trailer for the tournament shaders can be found after the jump.

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Brooklyn Beatdown returns in 2017 with $50,000 in prizes

Editor's note [8:13 p.m. CDT]: It has come to the staff's attention that both links to information about The Brooklyn Beatdown are no longer functional. IPLAYWINNER has reached out to representatives of ESL for comment, and in the meantime has included a screenshot of the archived ESL page after the jump.  

[Original story]: The Brooklyn Beatdown is coming back to Barclays Center in 2017.

ESL One's offline Street Fighter V event enters its second year on Sept. 16-17, 2017. This year, 256 players will compete for the first-place prize of $20,000, with the top 16 placers being paid out at least $500. 

Just as with last year's event, ESL will be holding online qualifiers in different regions, with the points leader in each receiving an invitation, flight and accommodation to BB in September. Qualifiers start the first week of August 2017, so players looking to take part should check out the ESL website for more information.

Registration for The Brooklyn Beatdown is currently not live, but details for tickets to the event—as well as links to buy those tickets—can be found on the BB event page.

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Expanded Street Fighter Anniversary Collection on the way?

The game released to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Street Fighter franchise may be making a big return on the series' 30th.

On July 28, multiple outlets reported that German retailer CoolShop listed Street Fighter Anniversary Collection as coming for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. While the listing has since been removed, it identified the game as the same title which featured Street Fighter III: Third Strike and Hyper Street Fighter II that was released for PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox in 2004.

However, according to Twitter user Shinkendo there is more to come than a simple rerelease. In multiple comments collected on NeoGAF, Shinkendo says the description was simply placeholder text and that the 30th anniversary collection will feature more games than the original collection.

With no official news at this time this is clearly all speculation, but it seems like there is reason to believe players will be getting some kind of Street Fighter compilation before SF's 30th anniversary has passed.

PC Tekken 7 updated to reflect console changes

A new patch rolled out for the PC version of Tekken 7 on July 28, bringing with it many of the changes that console owners received early in July.

At the core of the update were improvements to online play, with unlimited Revenge matches now being added to Ranked and the removal of player information outside of name during matchmaking. To this end, the game has also disabled match lists for matchmaking.

Meanwhile, players who did not preorder the game now have the chance to buy Eliza, who will cost players roughly $4.99. Readers can check out the full list of changes after the jump.

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StreamMe and GauntletGG unveil "Rage Within" online Tekken event

A new Tekken 7 online tournament series will be bringing cash prizes to competitors on PlayStation 4.

StreamMe, in association with GauntletGG, has announced the 10-week "Rage Within" competition. Contested every other week starting on Aug. 6, 2017, "Rage Within" will see players compete for cash prizes and a potential spot in the series finale.

While the payout for each preliminary event will see players compete for hundreds of dollars, the grand finale on Nov. 26 will see the top three players each paid out at least $1000. The spots in the final event will be determined by points earned throughout the rest of the season.

For more information on "Rage Within," including full rules and tournament prizes, readers can check out the StreamMe blog. Players can register for "Rage Within" at GauntletGG.

Brawlhalla PS4 Founders Pack launches Aug. 1, cross-play announced

Blue Mammoth Games' platforming brawler is currently in beta for PlayStation 4, but starting on Aug. 1 players will be able to support the game and get rewards with the new Founders Pack.

The Founders Pack will give players access to all current and future Brawlhalla fighters, along with a special avatar, nameplate and sidekick. It will also grant automatic access to the Brawlhalla beta.

No price is currently listed for the Founders Pack, but a similar All Legends pack on PC costs players $19.99. Those players unsure about Brawlhalla will still have the opportunity to enroll in the beta program for free at beta.brawlhalla.com.

In other news, Blue Mammoth also announced that PC and PS4 players will be able to compete using cross-play in the future. This addition currently has no release date, but Blue Mammoth Games President Matt Woomer says it will be available by Brawlhalla's official release.

Translated guide explains how to improve at the Under Night series

A detailed guide on how to improve at the Under Night series has been translated for English-speaking players.

Originally written by Japanese player Ranpo, the nine-part guide goes in-depth first with the Under Night system as it features chapters on Vorpal, Chain Shift and the GRD mechanic. It then moves more toward the mental matchups players face, such as improving in use of the system and understanding the standard options every character possesses in the series. Lastly, Ranpo offers a small overview of every character in the arcade version of Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st].

The guide was translated by Jasepi with proofing and revisions by Superscience and is a solid resource for players learning UNIST since its Japanese console release.

The guide can be found on Evernote.

Dragon Ball FighterZ beta expanded, registration delayed

Bandai Namco is expanding its upcoming closed beta for Dragon Ball FighterZ, but it will come with a delay.

The company announced the news in a Facebook post, where it said the "volume of excitement and enthusiasm surrounding" the beta program has encouraged the company to increase the number of players that will be able to participate. Because of this, however, Bandai Namco claims it needs time to "ensure that the closed beta registration and selection process can accept the volume of anticipated sign-ups," pushing the program back.

While the original opening date of beta registration was to be July 26, 2017, it will now commence Aug. 22. The beta will then run from Sept. 16-18. As previously stated, the DBFZ beta will contain nine characters including the recently revealed Krillin and Piccolo.

BlazBlue Central Fiction marked down for U.S. PS Plus members

The most recent version of BlazBlue is now available to U.S. PlayStation Plus members at a heavy discount.

From July 25 through Aug. 1, 2017, PS Plus members can pick up the title for $17.99. This is a steep discount from the game's original price of $59.99.

While BBCF 2.0 arrives on Aug. 3, the coming version will be a free upgrade whenever it is finally available for console players. In the meantime, those considering the new version can get acquainted with BBCF for a very reduced price.