At theGranblue Fes 2022-2023event on Sunday, Arc System Works announced Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising.A trailer for the gamewas also released, showing it off as an update of the original Granblue Fantasy Versus, adding much-requested features like rollback netcode and cross-platform play.
Granblue Fantasy Versusis a fighting game spin-off of theGranblue Fantasybrowser-based role-playing game. Developed byArc System Works, it was originally released in February 2020 for thePlayStation 4. The game then received a PC port in March of that year, though there was no cross-play between the platforms at the time. The game also did not include rollback netcode, which has since become the standard for online fighting games.
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That will all change this year with the announcement of Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. The trailer for the just-revealed game highlights those much-requested cross-play and rollback features. It also confirms that the new version of the game will launch on thePlayStation 5alongside the PlayStation 4 console andSteamthis year, expanding the player base to use those updated online options.
Arc System Works has also detailed additional features added to this new version of Granblue Fantasy Versus. The game will include new mechanics, such as Ultimate Skills, which are powered-up versions of Plus Skills which slow down an opponent’s movement. New stages were also promised, including a snowy area glimpsed in the posted trailer, and of course, new characters.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising will also feature an all-new Story Mode, which distills down the plot covered in the original version of the game’s RPG Mode, including all chapters of it from the original Granblue Fantasy Versus.
Other elements of the game were confirmed to be revamped, with Arc System Works highlighting the in-game shaders and effects as enhancing the graphics, plus a new online lobby island. This online option will apparently give players more to do in-between battles, including multiplayer party games under the “Grand Bruise Legends” banner.
That inclusion came withits own dedicated trailer, showing off the battle-royale style multiplayer mini-game modes, making more active use of players' adorable avatars than the base Granblue Fantasy Versus ever had in its basic online lobbies. Arc System Works also confirmed that the final update for the base version of Granblue Fantasy Versus would launch on January 24.
Arc System Works has been making a strong effort to add rollback netcode and other requested online features to their previous fighting games, includingGuilty Gear Xrd,Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, andDragon Ball FighterZ. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising seems to be the latest component of that agenda, enhanced with a suite of other features to assure fans that the company hasn’t forgotten about its older titles.
