Central Fiction Special Edition comes to Switch on Feb. 7, 2019, in Japan

The most recent game in the mainline BlazBlue series will be coming to Nintendo Switch early in 2019 with some bonuses for late adopters.

According to Famitsu, many of the additions to the core of BBCF that were paid DLC in other versions will be included in BlazBlue Central Fiction Special Edition when it releases on Nintendo's console. No list of the content is available at this time, but it seems a good bet that at least all the DLC characters—Jubei, Es and Mai Natsume—will be included.

BlazBlue Central Fiction first released to arcades on Nov. 19, 2015, with a PlayStation 3 and 4 release coming in the fall of 2016. A Steam version of the game followed in the spring of 2017.

Gear up: Arc System Works teaming with SuperGroupies to bring Guilty Gear, Blazblue-inspired apparel to Japan

Backpacks, cardigans and cell phone cases based on the designs of popular Arc System Works characters are coming as part of the company's new collaboration.

The items will be coming from SuperGroupies, a Japanese apparel company that seeks to merge anime and gaming style with that of normal clothing and accessories. 

On the Guilty Gear side, there will be a backpack, iPhone case and Cardigan with colors and designs referencing Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, Ramlethal Valentine and Elphelt Valentine. For BlazBlue, Ragna the Bloodedge, Jin Kisaragi and Hazama will all get phone cases, while Ragna receives a backpack, Jin a smaller should bag and Hazama gets a messenger or laptop-style pack. 

All items are now available for preorder but they don't come cheap, with the cell phone cases costing 5,800 yen (roughly $50) while the cardigans are 12,800 (~$115) and the bags vary from 12,800 to 17,800 (~$115-160). Prospective buyers outside Japan will also need to jump through extra hoops as SuperGroupies does not ship internationally. Those still interested can check out the collection at SuperGroupies.

Arc System Works announces ArcRevo World Tour

The makers of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue have announced a new circuit of events that will put more than $100,00 into the pockets of players.

ArcRevo World Tour will see players competing for cash prizes in BlazBlue Central Fiction, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle and Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 at tournaments across the globe. The action will start in the fall of 2018 and run for one year, culminating in the finals at ArcRevo America 2019 in Los Angeles, California.

So far 10 events have been named as ArcRevo qualifiers—Evo, Frosty Faustings, CEO and Texas Showdown in the U.S.; Revolution, Brussels Challenge and Headstomper in Europe; ArcRevo Japan and Evo Japan; and South East Asia Major—with more to be announced.

For more information on the ArcRevo World Tour, readers can check out the series' official website and watch the trailer after the jump.

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Summer Steam sale brings discounts to many fighters until July 5

A new sale running through the beginning of July 2018 is bringing sizable price cuts to many popular FGC titles across publishers.

Games with dedicated pro tours such as Tekken 7, Street Fighter V, Injustice 2 and Dragon Ball FighterZ are included as well as BlazBlue Central Fiction, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, Killer Instinct, Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code, King of Fighters XIV, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite and more. The DLC for most of these fighters is also on sale under the current offer.

The Steam summer sale runs from June 21 to July 5, 2018, and includes plenty of titles across all genres. Readers can check out the full list of discounted games at Steam.

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. 

Exceed Assault highlights online BlazBlue exhibitions

A new series of online BlazBlue Central Fiction events is helping raise awareness of players and content creators in the scene.

Exceed Assault is the creation of Chickzama, who wanted to show love for BlazBlue and get more players into the game. Since its first event in early August 2017, EA—originally named CrossXBattle—has presented same-character team battles to showcase different players in the scene and matchups in the game.

The fourth Exceed Assault will happen on Sept. 28, 2017, with a three-player round robin joining the normal team battle. The round robin will feature Milk_Kaichou, Fame and Tectal Eastside competing, while the team showdown will pit Hibiki players NeoBuster, SuperKawaiiWeeb and Gigaitachi against Mai players Kyou-chan, Shaka and MetalWolf.

The event will start at 6 p.m. CDT (4 p.m. PDT, 7 p.m. EDT) with streaming on Logichole's Twitch channel and commentary by MiniMatt, ChaoticGamez and ZackOnestar.

BlazBlue Central Fiction 2.0 coming to Steam on Sept. 14

The recent update to BlazBlue Central Fiction will be coming to Steam in the second week of September 2017.

The official BlazBlue Twitter account has confirmed that BBCF 2.0 will be coming to the platform on Sept. 14. Jubei will release along with the patch and will be sold separately for $7.99 in the United States.

BlazBlue Central Fiction 2.0 contains many balance changes for the cast of BBCF as well as new character Jubei. Translations of the various character alterations can be found at Google Docs.

BeautifulDude joins InTheSkies

One of the Tekken scene's biggest teams is making a foray into the world of airdashers by signing Julian "BeautifulDude" Franco.

Known most for his Zato-1 play in the Guilty Gear Xrd series, Franco has become a constant in the Southern California airdash scene with many top three placements in his history. Since 2016 he has also become a multigame performer, showing off strong performances in BlazBlue with Relius and picking up Tekken 7 with its release in June 2017.

"[Joining ITS is] an extremely exciting oppotunity, to say the least," Franco said in a statement to IPLAYWINNER. "I'm a bit nervous, but I'm eager to show what I can do with Zato and Relius! There'll be Dead Man's Hands for everyone!"

BeautifulDude will be representing ITS for the first time at SoCal Regionals 2017 on Sept. 22-24 in Anaheim, California.

Jubei, BBCF 2.0 claw their way to console on Aug. 31, 2017

The recent arcade update to BlazBlue Central Fiction will be coming to Japanese and North American consoles along with its new character at the end of August.

Arc System Works has confirmed that Jubei will release along with the patch on Aug. 31. Jubei will cost players 800 yen or $7.99.

There is currently no date for the Steam version's corresponding patch.

Revolution 2017 to offer Arc Revo qualifier for Europe

Five spots in Arc System Works' vaunted Arc Revolution Cup will be available to competitors during NGI and Rice Digital's Revolution 2017 in London, England.

The top three placers in Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 and top two in BlazBlue Central Fiction at the qualifying event on Oct. 7-8 will have the opportunity to form teams and represent Europe at Arc Revo Cup.

Along with qualifying for ARC, prizes at Revolution will also include travel and accommodations for the players courtesy of both games' European publisher PQube. According to rules of the event, players must be at least 18 years old with a valid passport that they must bring to the event. Japanese players are allowed to qualify from the event.

For more information on Revolution 2017, including registration for the event, readers can head over the event's official website. Meanwhile, Arc Revolution Cup 2017 is part of Taito's Toushinsai event, which takes place Oct. 21, 2017, in Tokyo, Japan.

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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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.

Cat's out of the bag: more details on Jubei's appearance in BBCF 2.0

Famitsu has a new article (scans courtesy of HDKirin) explaining the basic moves and abilities of Jubei as he appears in the upcoming BlazBlue Central Fiction 2.0 update.

According to translations by GREATFERMAN, Jubei is a small character that excels at speed. His drive, Shiranui, marks opponents and allows him to keep strong pressure. Jubei also has a slow-moving fireball and a slash attack with different enders. The character's biggest move of note, however, is his install super Fudou Sharenjin which powers up both his special moves and his drive for the remainder of the round.

According to Hiago, BBCF 2.0 will be a free update, but there is neither a release date nor a price for Jubei listed at this time.

BBCF version 2.0 brings balance changes, Jubei to arcades on Aug. 3

A new update to BlazBlue Central Fiction was first announced during Evolution 2017 and now the update's release date has been confirmed: Aug. 3, 2017.

BBCF 2.0 will come first to arcades and include new character Jubei as well as changes for the entire cast. The list of alterations is in Japanese, but Brazilian player HiagoXYZ is currently translating them on Twitter. These translations and others are also being collected in a Google Document.

There is no console release date for BBCF 2.0 at this time.

Arc System Works announces BlazBlue Tag Battle, Jubei coming to BlazBlue Central Fiction in summer 2017

After BlazBlue Central Fiction finals at Evolution 2017, Arc System Works announced a new character for BBCF and a new project that is on the horizon.

First, the company revealed that the last of the six heroes, Jubei, will be coming to BBCF sometime during summer 2017.

Arc System Works also showed footage of a new title named BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, which will be a two vs two tag battle game that encorporates characters from BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late and the anime series RWBY. Readers can check out the BBTB and Jubei trailers after the jump.

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A spectator's guide to BlazBlue Central Fiction by Ebonic Plague

With Evolution 2017 only weeks away, Portland's Ebonic Plague has compiled a guide to help viewers enjoy the title when it makes its appearance on the main stage.

The "Spectator's Guide to BlazBlue" is a 15-page document that tries to break down the game's system and characters in a way that viewers of other fighting games can easily understand. It offers small paragraphs on each of the system mechanics and characters in BBCF, and also includes notable players to watch at the upcoming event. Ebonic Plague even offers a small frequently asked questions section and other useful links at the end of the guide.

Readers can check out the guide on Google Documents.

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. 

Golden Week Sale brings deals to many titles on PlayStation Store

In celebration of Japan's Golden Week, the PlayStation Store is currently offering substantial discounts to fighting games on both PlayStation 3 and 4.

For PlayStation 3, BlazBlue Central Fiction ($19.99), Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! ($4.99), Battle Fantasia ($2.99), Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix ($2.49) and the PS2 Classic version of Capcom vs. SNK 2 ($2.49) have all had their prices slashed by at least 60 percent.

PlayStation 4, meanwhile, is offering big savings on Samurai Shodown VI ($7.49), Garou: Mark of the Wolves ($5.99) and both BlazBlue Central Fiction ($23.99) and Chronophantasma Extend ($14.99).

There are also plenty of deals for other game genres worth checking out. These deals last until May 9, 2017, at 8 a.m. PDT.

BlazBlue Central Fiction coming to Steam on April 26, 2017

The newest BlazBlue game will receive a PC release before the end of April.

According to the game's Steam listing, BlazBlue Central Fiction will arrive on April 26 and come bundled with a digital soundtrack and "Memorial Book."

There is currently no price listed for the Steam version of BBCF. Central Fiction was first released in Japanese arcades on Nov. 19, 2015, with a U.S. console release coming almost a year later on Nov. 1, 2016.

BlazBlue Central Fiction heading to Steam soon?

The most recent version of BlazBlue may shortly be getting its PC release.

According to Twitter user Gatoray (via Shoryuken), the Korean ratings board has listed BlazBlue Central Fiction for an upcoming PC release. This could mean the game is being set up for distribution on the platform soon.

However, SRK also reported that BBCF was seen in the Steam database more than two months ago, so it is still unclear if the release is pending or this is simply more preparation for its eventual availability.