Sub-Zero drops the temperature on July 11

The next DLC character for Injustice 2 arrives just days before Evolution 2017.

Sub-Zero will be released on July 11, 2017, according to a tweet from NetherRealm Studios Creative Director and Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon. The character was first revealed in early May and a gameplay trailer appeared on June 14.

Although he will be released before the Evolution, players will not see Sub-Zero at the event as DLC characters are banned in Injustice 2 tournament play until 30 days after their release.

Learn how to play Dissidia with a new tutorial from Square Enix

The makers of Final Fantasy have released a new video showing viewers how to play the upcoming Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.

The tutorial is aimed squarely at players new to the franchise as it covers the basics of Dissidia's gameplay, from picking a character to what action each button on the PlayStation 4 controller performs. It also explains all the parts of Dissidia's in-game display and how a team can win the match.

Interestingly enough, the tutorial ends telling players to "apply all this in the demo," but Square Enix has made no mention of releasing a demo of Dissidia to the public. It's possible that the phrase is simply a holdover from E3 2017 where a playable version of the title was present, but SE has made no official statement at this time.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is scheduled for release sometime in early 2018 for PlayStation 4. Readers can check out the tutorial after the jump.

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New UNIST trailer debuts gameplay footage of Enkidu, Erika Wagner

Arc System Works has released a trailer showing off the features of the upcoming console release of Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st].

The almost two-and-a-half-minute video showcases all the different parts of the game, including story mode, a tutorial for beginners and a mission mode to help players explore combo possibilities.

It also gives players the first glimpse at gameplay footage of the two console characters in UNIST, Erika Wagner and Enkidu. Enkidu seems to focus on heavy-hitting attacks and even has a counter, while Wagner propels herself across the screen in attacks reminiscent of Zero's buster lightning and Captain America's charging star from UMvC3.

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] comes to PlayStation 3, 4 and Vita consoles on July 20, 2017, in Japan. There is currently no information about a North American release of the title.

Readers can check out the new trailer after the jump.

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School outfits for Nash, Ibuki, R. Mika launch June 27

The second batch of school costumes is coming to Street Fighter V at the end of June.

SCHOOL UNIFORM SCREENSHOTS

The costumes were first revealed on the Capcom Unity stream during E3 2017, but no details about their release was given at the time.

Players will be able to purchase the outfits for Nash, Ibuki and R. Mika for $3.99 starting on June 27.

Trunks confirmed for Dragon Ball FighterZ

Trunks has been confirmed as a playable character in Dragon Ball FighterZ thanks to an image in the new Weekly Jump magazine in Japan.

The character appears as an adult with his trademark purple jacket. He joins Cell, Majin Buu, Gohan, Goku, Frieza and Vegeta as announced characters for the title.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is scheduled to release in early 2018. Readers can check out the full image from Jump, courtesy of Gematsu, after the jump.

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Dealing with Lucky Chloe "kick up" by Bloodhawk

New York's Bloodhawk has created a video designed to help people who are having problems against Lucky Chloe in Tekken 7.

Done out of backturn, Lucky Chloe's "kick up" is a move that is not only a juggle starter that leads to big damage, but is also safe on block.

In an almost seven-minute video, BloodHawk shows how players can find options that will interrupt and punish the move for their character and points out general movement choices that can help avoid a potential mixup. Readers can check out the video after the jump.

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Tekken 7 for Steam updated with bug, online fixes

The first update for the PC version of Tekken 7 has rolled out with fixes for both online and offline play.

Most of the updates fix actual problems with using the game, such as keyboards becoming unresponsive and Kazuya's model partially disappearing at times when customized. Other fixes, however, are designed to prevent players from getting matched with "hackers" or to allow competitors find themselves on the leaderboards.

Also added are changes to Nina's Ivory Cutter, Eddy's Rage Art and one of Miguel's Power Crush moves. No details are provided but the Nina change is likely the one that came to consoles earlier this month.

The small list of fixes can be found after the jump.

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"Tension Pulse" Rev 2 exhibition series debuts on June 22

The successor to the "Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League" will have its first event as June 2017 nears its end.

Originally scheduled to begin with the release of Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 on June 1, "Tension Pulse" was delayed because of unstable connections in the Steam version of the game. Now that Rev 2 has been patched, the exhibition series is ready to start again.

The first matches will see Blaze's Raven take on Woocash's Baiken and Faultydefense's Answer will fight TheArm's Ramlethal. The matches will take place starting at 9 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. PDT) with commentary from BeautifulDude and Samifish on Silva's Twitch channel.

NYC Fab joins Fable eSports

After returning to major competitive play with Tekken 7 at CEO 2017, Shaun "NYC Fab" Swain has signed with Fable eSports.

Swain was one of the top players in the U.S. Tekken scene during Tekken 6, and remained a strong player into Tekken Tag Tournament 2 before taking a hiatus from major competition. His fifth-place showing at CEO is a strong indicator of his return, and he promises "bob and miguel will be ready" going forward.

"I'm proud to announce that I am apart of the @FableGG family!" Swain said on Twitter. "This is a blessing and I look forward to working with the organization!"

AnimEvo makes Gundam Versus free to enter, promises prizes

The next chapter in the Gundam arena fighting series is looking for new players with a free tournament at AnimEvo 2017.

The tournament series has announced that Gundam Versus will not only be a free event, but will also have guaranteed prizes for competitors that are to be announced in the future. Gundam Versus will pit two teams of two pilots against one another in mechanized combat, much like its predecessors. 

Additionally, Eighty Sixed will be providing prizes to the winners of Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R, Persona 4 Ultimax, Yatagarasu: Attack on Cataclysm, Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! and Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late.

Gundam Versus launches on July 6 in Japan and is coming to North America sometime in the fall of 2017. AnimEvo takes place during Evolution 2017 on July 14-15, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A brief history of Arika and its fighters by Josh "funkdoc" Ballard, part 2

Part 2: Street Fighter EX2 Plus

As with the original EX, "Plus" is the later revision; the original version is just called EX2.  The first version came out in 1998 with the following year bringing us EX2+. Western audiences had largely moved on from Street Fighter by this point, and EX's trademark ugly graphics didn't help its cause. That's especially apparent when you compare it to 3-D contemporaries like Virtua Fighter III & Tekken III. It's much less well-remembered by casual gamers than the first EX, but has become the most enduring EX game in the competitive scene. Old-school havens like a-cho and Next Level still run regular events for it!

EX2+ has a much larger cast of characters than EX+, including some more classic favorites like Sagat. It also removed many EX1 characters like Akuma and Blair. The original version of EX2 had removed even more EX1 characters before they returned in EX2+.

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Bandai Namco, Capcom begin licensing deal over online matching

Capcom has announced a cross-licensing deal with Bandai Namco targeted at improving online play in versus games like fighters.

According to the company's press release, Capcom's intent with the new agreement is "to improve the user experience while accelerating the production of titles and reducing development costs for both parties."

What this means for players is that Bandai Namco and Capcom will now each have access to some work from the other company, possibly infrastructure, when developing online matchmaking in future products. If that is the case, the companies could build off one another's work to make a more stable online experience while saving money they would each separately use for development costs. However, what exactly is being traded between the two is a mystery for now as Capcom's release is both brief and vague.

This is of course not the first cooperation between the two gaming giants, as the companies have collaborated to create several different titles such as Project X Zone and Street Fighter X Tekken, and Street Fighter's Akuma is a guest fighter in Tekken 7.

Arc Revolution Cup returns on Oct. 21, 2017

Arc System Works has announced the date and titles that will be part of the 2017 edition of Arc Revolution Cup.

The competition will take place during Taito's Toushinsai event and includes Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, BlazBlue Central Fiction, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] and Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold.

Guilty Gear and BlazBlue will both be held as team events—Xrd will be teams of three, BBCF teams of two—while the other two games will be single player. Each competition will consist of 32 teams or players.

In the past, both teams from both Europe and the United States were given a chance to qualify for Arc Revo, but nothing has been announced at this time. 

Killer Instinct coming to Steam

Previously only available on Xbox One and through the Windows 10 marketplace, Killer Instinct will be coming to Steam later in 2017.

The announcement was made along with the reveal of Eagle gameplay footage right before grand finals of Killer Instinct at CEO 2017.

No other information is available at this time, but hopefully more details will become clear as KI ramps up for the release of Eagle and version 3.8 on June 27.

The champ is almost here: Max Brass coming to ARMS

The greatest champion in ARMS history will be joining the game as DLC in July.

Max Brass has arms made out of championship belts, and has the ability to buff himself up to where he will not flinch when hit much like Master Mummy. When his Brass' health gets below a quarter, his arms are permanently charged like Spring Man.

While Brass will be part of the game's second update, ARMS will get its first update in June when Spectator Mode is added to the title. Readers, meanwhile, can check out the first footage of Max Brass from Nintendo's Twitch archives (starting at roughly four hours and 57 minutes) after the jump.

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Tekken 7 sidestep guide tells you to walk on the weak side

A new guide provides a quick "cheat sheet" players can study when wondering how to move against opposing characters in Tekken 7.

The guide not only gives an indicator of which side is a character's weak side, meaning their moves do not track well to that side, but also gives added notes or indicators that can further explain movement in the matchup. Players are told, for example, that it is better to simply duck or block against Shaheen than try to sidestep his attacks.

The guide was created by Reddit user krieger999 from a guide Nobi made, and turned into a PDF by TekkenGamer. It should prove useful for any player who needs a quick movement answer without having to grind training mode. The guide is available at TekkenGamer.

Sub-Zero will put Injustice 2 opponents on ice in July

During a Warner Bros. Games live presentation at E3 2017, Ed Boon and Tyler Lansdown of NetherRealm Studios presented the gameplay trailer for the next DLC character coming to Injustice 2.

Sub-Zero joins Injustice this July with several of his classic Mortal Kombat moves including ice blast, slide, ground freeze and even ice clone. However, the character trailer also showed off a jumping ground slam and the ability to shoot ice clones like projectiles both in the air and on the ground. Sub-Zero even can generate more than one ice clone at a time using his character power.

As always, it's hard to tell which moves will be standard for the character and which will be locked behind gear, but players will likely find out in the coming days and weeks. For now, readers can check out Sub-Zero's trailer after the jump.

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Killer Instinct hits the mark on June 27 with the release of Eagle

Eagle will be coming to KI at the end of June and a new trailer has been released to show the character in action.

In KI's story, Eagle is the brother of Thunder who was captured by Aria and his spirit "copied" into Fulgore. Eagle has been set free by Glacius and now seeks to finish his work bringing harmony back to nature. 

Eagle fights with a bow and a mechanical bird that will retrieve arrows fired at opponents. He will be released along with KI version 3.8 on June 27. More information, including details on his instinct activation, will likely be available in the coming days, but readers can check out his trailer after the jump.

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Class is still in: more school uniforms coming to Street Fighter V

During the Capcom Unity stream at E3 on June 13, Harrison and Gootecks showed off the new school uniform costumes for R. Mika, Nash and Ibuki.

Harrison was tight-lipped on details for the outfits, saying only that they would be available "soon" and offering no price details. It is likely, however, that each costume will sell for $3.99 like the previous school uniforms for Juri, Ryu and Chun-Li.

For more footage of the costumes in action, readers can check out the archives from yesterday's stream after the jump. The SFV content starts roughly one hour and 28 minutes in the video.

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Razer offering limited Street Fighter V-themed Panthera in July

Razer's arcade stick is getting a limited edition makeover during the summer of 2017.

Starting in July, the company will be offering a model of its Panthera stick with art featuring bearded Ryu and Akuma from Street Fighter V. The art itself will be an updated take on the classic showdown between the two characters that adorned Street Fighter Alpha 2 posters, boxes and other official memorabilia.

No price has been announced for the limited model, but the Panthera normally retails for $199.99. Readers can check out IPLAYWINNER's review of the stick here, and can check out the lag tests for its 1.01.00 firmware after the jump.

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