We sat down with the CEO of Arc System Works to discuss the company’s new fighting game, Marvel Tokon, and how it feels taking up the mantle from Capcom’s iconic crossover series.
Marvel’s presence in the fighting game genre was famously tied to Capcom for decades, producing several hit titles that still have die-hard playerbases to this day. However, things tapered off after the rocky release of Marvel vs Capcom Infinite in 2017. Fans feared they might never see another Marvel fighting game ever again — that is, until June 2025, when Arc System Works showed off a new collaboration with the Marvel IP.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls isn’t a crossover game. It’s a 4v4 tag fighter based solely within the Marvel universe, pitting characters from the comics against each other in an explosive new format. Arc System Works is known for pumping out beloved fighting game franchises like Guilty Gear, Blazblue and Dragon Ball FighterZ — and now, it can add Tokon to the list.
We got the chance to speak with Arc System Works’ CEO, Minoru Kidooka, who filled us in on what it’s like making the next big Marvel fighting game in the wake of its historic ties to Capcom.
Working with Marvel was a no-brainer for Arcsys
Kidooka explained that collaborating with Marvel is an important way for ASW to expand their outreach, reminding us that outside of the fighting game community, they’re still a relatively ‘unknown’ publisher.
“As you may know, historically we’ve been making a lot of different games and collaborating with different IPs. You know, we had Sailor Moon back in the day, Fist of the North Star, Persona, DragonBall — we’ve done so many different games with different IPs,” he told us. “I think this is a continuation of that. We’re constantly thinking about what new things, what excitement we can bring to the table. Working with Marvel and putting out Tokon is part of that.
“Marvel is a very huge IP, and this is just one of those steps that we have to take. And right now, because Arc System Works is still relatively unknown, this is one of the greater opportunities for us to put our name out there and to introduce ourselves to people who don’t know us yet, and to showcase our expertise in the fighting atmosphere.
“Now, we’re here at Evo 2025 showcasing our first demo. I don’t know if you saw, but the line was crazy. It’s so long. I think that really speaks to how we made the right decision as far as who to collaborate with at this time.”
Arcsys isn’t replacing Marvel vs Capcom – they’re evolving it
Making the next Marvel fighting game has to be a challenge — especially when they’re following in the footsteps of the Marvel vs Capcom series, which produced many of the greatest moments in competitive fighting game history. For Kidooka, taking up this mantle is important, but he’s more focused on bringing the Arc System Works flair to make Tokon their own unique product.
“We hope to take up the mantle [from Marvel vs Capcom]. But I think more so than leading this next generation, we’re more focused on how to integrate Arc System Works’ unique way of expressing and crafting games with the huge IP that is Marvel,” he explained.
“It’s not just, ‘Let’s just make a fighting game using Marvel characters.’ It’s, ‘How do we fuse our craftsmanship, our form of expression, our ideas, and how do we imbue that and make it something great? It’s not really about the next generation of Marvel games, but it’s more like, ‘How do we solidify and establish our identity in the Marvel IP? I think that is the more, uh, challenging thing, and that’s what we’re focusing on right now.”
Arc System Works CEO refuses to retire until they make a hit game that isn’t Guilty Gear
Tokon is just the latest major project for ASW, which is currently developing a number of other titles in different genres. Several of these games were announced during the company’s showcase this summer, which sparked mixed reactions from the fighting game community.
Kidooka addressed this disgruntled response from the FGC, saying that ASW has to keep challenging itself in order to remain viable in an increasingly brutal market.
“Arc System Works has been around for about 38 years now, and Guilty Gear, our flagship title, has been around for 27 years. In recent years we’ve been branching out into other fighting games. We’ve actually been doing this for quite some time,” he mused.
“It just so happens that Guilty Gear is our most popular and the most widely-recognized game. But at the same time we have to sort of keep challenging ourselves in this uncertain market. It’s very volatile. Studios are going down left and right. It’s really hard to have a wide scope, but we have to still keep challenging ourselves to expand outwards into different categories. It’s kind of a way to sort of give back to the community and not to stay too narrow-minded.
“I can’t retire until we release a hit game that isn’t Guilty Gear. Please, help me retire!”
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