Image: Sega
Sega is set to revive the Virtua Fighter fighting game franchise.
Sega’s renewed efforts to revive many of its long-dormant game franchises now include one more title: Virtua Fighter. In a recent interview with VGC, the company confirmed that a new entry in the Virtua Fighter game franchise is currently in development, along with movies, TV shows and videogames based on Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Crazy Taxi, Shinobi, Golden Axe, Persona and more.
We got a sneak peek at some of these projects last year, in case you missed it:
Sega announces new Virtua Fighter to join long list of revived IP
Sega is officially working on a new Virtua Fighter game a long 18 years after its latest mainline entry, Virtua Fighter 5. The company released Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown back in 2021, but it should be noted that the game was simply a remaster of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown. Now, the 3D fighting game series is set for a comeback - along with a long list of dormant Sega franchises.
A recent interview with Sega saw the company’s global head of transmedia Justin Scarpone confirm that there is a “suite of titles in development right now that fall into that legacy bucket, which we announced last year at The Game Awards; Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, and we have another Virtua Fighter being developed.”
In addition to those titles, Sega is also “doing animation series, or live-action films to augment that and be part of those roadmaps” including one for the Shinobi series - which is also getting a new sequel game. “So will that resonate or not kind of depends on if we have gotten better as storytellers, and if we can reach younger audiences while also reigniting the core fans. It’s a big, big challenge.”
Scarpone is leading an effort to not just bring back dormant Sega franchises like Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio, which have not seen new mainline entries in many years, but to also adapt these games for film and TV mediums. Back in 2022, the company revealed plans to adapt the Persona games into film or TV productions.
Now, it looks like that effort is being expanded to every possible franchise on Sega’s plate. The next Sega adaptation is already imminent: Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
