Arc System Works CEO Talks Pandemic, Free-To-Play, Indie Publishing, And More

gamespot.com:

Evo 2022 is in the rearview, but the weekend of fighting game action brought plenty of exciting announcements from multiple developers and publishers. One of the biggest names was Arc System Works, with the Guilty Gear Strive tournament seeing more participants than any other competition at the event.

We spoke with Arc System Works's CEO Minoru Kidooka about the fighting game scene, from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the community to the decision to return to Evo despite that same pandemic continuing to linger.

We also touched on the concept of free-to-play fighting games after the success of MultiVersus and the upcoming Project L, as well as the company's publishing wing and what sort of games Arc System Works would want to pursue as it approaches its 35th anniversary in 2023.

This interview was conducted via email and edited for clarity.

Guilty Gear Strive is the largest fighting game at EVO this year, with nearly 2,200 entrants into the weekend-long event. What does this mean for the future of the game, and your plans to support it going forward?

Minoru Kidooka: Despite several delays due to COVID, we were able to launch Guilty Gear Strive last year in 2021. There were a lot of difficulties leading up to the game's release, but we are happy that people all over the world are playing our game. We are incredibly grateful that so many people are entering this year's Evo, which is the first time in 3 years that the event is being held offline.

Guilty Gear Strive has been for sale for a little over a year and has reached a major milestone in time for the start of Season 2. That being said, Guilty Gear Strive is still developing. We will continue to support our player base by taking in their feedback, and by