Olivia Richman is a seasoned esports journalist who has worked with Inven Global, Esports Illustrated, Esports.gg, and more. As an editor and writer at Esports Insider, she loves telling unique esports stories, especially within the FGC. When not working and gaming, Olivia loves collecting Kirby plush, eating sushi, and driving her cars at the track.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves burst onto the fighting game scene in April 2025 just in time to build up the hype ahead of Evo Vegas that summer. It took one of the Main Stage spots, and the Top 8 was insanely fun to watch due to the veteran players giving it their all and the fast-paced gameplay you couldn’t look away from.
But the esports scene has not really held onto that same hype. There were only 433 entrants at Evo Japan 2026, and 444 at Evo Vegas this past weekend. For comparison, 2XKO took the third Main Stage spot with 1,080 entrants.
Despite the drop in Fatal Fury’s esports scene, the devs behind the game are not worried. In fact, there may even be a resurgence very soon. Esports Insider spoke with Producer Shinya Tamaki and Director Hayato Konya ahead of Evo Vegas 2026, getting more insight into the team’s plans for City of the Wolves’ esports scene.
Konya and Tamaki are well aware that Fatal Fury’s release was perfectly timed. It was right before Evo Vegas, so established competitive players decided to switch in hopes of dominating the scene early on and winning that $48,000 prize pool.
But that’s really not the only reason City of the Wolves was quick to grab the FGC’s attention. This launch was 26 years in the making. That’s how long it had been since the last installment, making the launch a historic moment as well. Said Tamaki: “People who grew up with the game as a kid got to see the new iteration.”
Konya also noted that it introduced many new mechanics to the fighting game scene. The REV Gauge, a meter that dictates your access to high-damage combos and special maneuvers, is a stand-out gameplay feature. But the technical gameplay also includes feints, breaking, and faking. There are a lot of mind games and gameplay options. Even the Selective Potential Gear (S.P.G.) takes extra strategy, since it can be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of your health bar.
“It’s a very unique experience for the traditional FGC,” Konya said.
Despite the history and competitive gameplay, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves didn’t really keep that same hype beyond Evo Vegas 2025. This could be due to the oversaturation of the FGC . There are a lot of titles fighting for the spotlight at majors, and even more are on the way. Fatal Fury could have gotten a bit lost, especially without any meaningful updates.
Over in 2XKO, Evo champion Jo’siah “Hikari” Miller told Esports Insider after his victory that he believes the game could become larger in the scene despite Riot’s skepticism. He said: “I think it will grow because of Riot. It has a lot of free content. All the characters are free, so you can try it. There are different fuses and combos. They’re always adding new characters along their road map.”
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves couldn’t say the same for a while. And devs admit some of that is their fault. For a while, the game didn’t receive many major content updates, leading to player departures. Tamaki explained that it wasn’t the tea…