Fighting game fans have a lot to be excited about this year, with the main game lineup for both Evo Vegas and Evo Japan growing to 12 games, up from the traditional eight. However, there are two iconic fighting game franchises missing that may come as a surprise.

With Evo events continuing to break attendance records as fighting games grow increasingly popular year over year, growing the size of the main event has been a long time coming.

While there have always been community-run side brackets for smaller games people are passionate about, the main stage being restricted to 8 games has made it difficult for games outside of major franchises to get recognition.

Evo 2025 is correcting that, but it’s also leaving out two major franchises in favor of letting new blood in. And, in both cases, the omissions are indicative of a pivotal turning point in both series: Mortal Kombat and Marvel.

Evo Japan & Evo Vegas 2026 lineups announced

Keeping in fashion with 2025’s transition toward supporting older fighting games, 2026’s events in Japan and the U.S. both have some retro games making a comeback for the first time in decades.

First up is Japan:

Mainstays like Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and Guilty Gear: Strive and the newly-released 2XKO are here, but Japan is also bringing back some classics. Both Vampire Savior and the Fist of the North Star fighting game are over 20 years old at this point, but they’re getting a piece of the pie.

Also, Melty Blood: Type Lumina and Under Night In-Birth [Sys:Celes] gives underdog fighting game developer French Bread 2 main stage reps, a huge win for a developer that’s been trying to break into the mainstream since the late 90s.

Meanwhile, the Vegas game lineup has some big differences:

KoF 15, Melty Blood, and FotNS are out in favor of Rivals of Aether 2, BlazBlue: Central Fiction, and Invincible VS. Invincible VS doesn’t even have an official release date yet, but we at least know it’ll be out before Evo Vegas 2026.

The absence of Marvel has a dual meaning here. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was the retro selection from 2025, and it seems that Vampire Savior has taken its place. This leaves the door open for MvC2 or MvC3 to return in the future, although it may be a while.

But it also means that Marvel TOKON: Fighting Souls won’t be out for a while yet, at least not until the later half of 2026. 

Mortal Kombat, meanwhile, is in a tough spot. It had lower attendance than most niche fighting games at major events despite selling millions of copies, with competitive interest in the game quickly falling off a cliff. Considering Mortal Kombat 1 was released in September 2023, its tournament lifespan was remarkably short.

And, with Netflix making a move to acquire Warner Bros., it’s unclear what the future of the series (or NetherRealm as a studio) will be.

While this record-breaking Evo lineup is great news for fans, it’s also indicative of the fact that, in order for the FGC to evolve, some games have to get left behind.