Arc System Works just had its biggest success ever with Dragon Ball FighterZ on PC, a collaboration with Namco Bandai that set the record for the most concurrent fighting game players on PC ever. The upcoming BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, landing in June, will be Arc's next attempt to pull in new players who've always been intimidated by the complexity of fighting games, with a simplified control scheme and crossover characters from Persona 4 and Rooster Teeth's RWBY.

I managed to win a match against BlazBlue director Toshimichi Mori, so it's definitely beginner friendly. After a few rounds, I talked with Mori and Guilty Gear creator Daisuke Ishiwatari about where the depth will come from in a tag fighter with simplified inputs and combos, what it's like for Arc System Works to develop games on PC, and, most importantly, why none of the shirtless, beefcake anime dudes in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle have nipples.

Wes: I was just starting playing Cross Tag Battle, but it's hard for me to know where the depth will be. I'm curious where the hardcore Arc System Works fans will find the competitive depth and longevity for this game, compared to previous BlazBlue games?

Mori: I think a lot of that will come down to the character combinations. There are a variety of toolkits the players will have access to, depending on which characters they combine with who. One thing we were very careful with is 'if I have this one character on my team I can win.' We didn't want any one character to stick out above the others.

A large concept for the game is to take people from the sidelines of fighting games who are interested in it but have always just spectated because they felt the barrier to entry was too high, or the execution barrier was too much for them, so that the moment you pick up the controller you're able to execute some pretty flashy moves. And the more you dig, the more you discover 'oh wow, this is cool, I can do this.' That's the feeling we wanted to entice in people.

Of course, we are aware that very cartoony, anime-looking visuals like this is considered a niche in the videogame world, but even then, if there's any point at which people might find interest in this game, the fighting, the characters, whatever it is, we want to make this a platform where they can come and play and enjoy it.

We're putting a lot of effort into the network and online modes as well, so we just want this to be, again, a platform where people can interact with each other and build a community around the idea of a fighting game.

That is, again, a large reason why we forced Arc System Works America, so we can start to communicate more directly with our fans and communities, help the communities grow, give them what they need, and listen to their feedback. From there it should trickle onward. Previously I think Japan and Asia had a huge advantage in competitiveness and just information. We want everyone to stand at the same starting line.

Wes: For making the game more approachable to new players, has that affected your training or tutorial modes at all?

Mori: There is of course a tutorial mode that will walk people through the basics of the systems in fighting games, but again going back to it, if you just mash some buttons you'll be able to do something. There's something for everyone here.

A lot of tutorial modes will walk you through all the systems, the complex mechanics, and I don't want any fans to feel like 'oh, I can't enjoy this game unless I master all of these.' I expect some people to not even go into the tutorial, to just dive right into brawling with each other, which is the intent.

Wes: I have kind of a weird question. Where are the guys' nipples? Even Mario has nipples now.

Mori: I heard that overseas it wouldn't be too well received, so we intentionally abstracted that [laughs]. I think in the US and Europe it's more acceptable, but in Asia it's not really… so we kind of fudged it, a little bit. I thought it was totally acceptable to have some form of expression of that. I guess that's cultural.

Wes: It just stuck out to me because last year there were all these jokes about Mario in Mario Odyssey having nipples. Everyone thought it was funny.

Mori: For the record, I am of the school of thought that it's acceptable as a form of expression, but I noticed whenever they'd take some of the artwork that I do with the nipples, in Asia it gets erased. 

Ishiwatari: Capcom characters don't have it, either.

Mori: It's a very tedious process to either draw it or not draw it, depending on which region the assets are going to go to, so we just decided to keep it universal.

Wes: How much does Arc System Works share personnel between teams, and technology between BlazBlue and Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ, and all your different games?

Ishiwatari: In terms of Dragon Ball FighterZ, that was more of an exception where the lead artist from Guilty Gear was kind of placed at the helm of overseeing many elements of that project. For more games that are developed internally at Arc System Works, exclusively, the game designers talk to each other, so they work really close to each other. Usually at the first stage of any game development, for example, the game designer of Guilty Gear will say 'hey on the next version we're going to try this, add these features and network modes, we got this kind of feedback from the audience, maybe you guys can apply something.' A lot of times at the game designer level they try to communicate, and each project will help the other one grow.

Mori: To summarize and add on to what Daisuke said, we're not a huge company, so I think communication is very key. Because we're not that large, the barrier to reach out to someone across the office is not as big as it might be for a huge, huge studio.

Wes: Is there a lot of shared technology between the different games? The engines that you used, the network infrastructure?

Mori: As far as the network infrastructure is concerned, there is a lot of overlap, but in terms of the engines, anything that has a BlazBlue look, versus a Guilty Gear look, are fundamentally different. Guilty Gear Xrd uses Unreal, where BlazBlue is a self-developed engine we've been modifying and improving upon since the Guilty Gear XX era.

Ishiwatari: Among the games developed inside Arc System Works, there are some universal themes and systems very familiar to people playing any Arc System Works game. So you have your Guilty Gears and BlazBlues and if one tries something new and gets a really good response, generally the other will try to improve upon that, integrate it, and then the barrier to cross between any of our games is generally very low. Of course, there are some exceptions, where one team might disagree with some kind of mechanic or element the other team is really gung-ho about. Those are always up for discussion.

Wes: On the PC, what has it been like for Arc System Works to start bringing their games to Steam? What has the fanbase been like? Has it grown a lot since you started bringing your games to the PC?

Mori: In terms of our PC releases, I think it's still very very young in its development stages. Yes, we have begun to bring games to the PC, but having said that, we haven't noticed any large movement in terms of shift in fanbase or anything of that nature. I think we'll find out in the coming years how that's going to affect that our company structure.

Wes: Is developing for PC still a challenge for the team, or is it as easy now as developing for PS4, arcade?

Mori: In terms of the development on PC, creating a 1:1 clone of any game, it's been pretty standard inside of our team. It's no more or less difficult than developing for any other platform. The biggest challenge right now is making them talk to each other across platforms. That's been a big theme. 

Ishiwatari: Each platform has its own quirks and its own fanbase, and we have many micro communities, where if you add everyone together we should have a pretty big community, but it's hard to get everyone matched with everyone else. I think a big bottleneck of fighting games is when you want to play but can't get matched with someone of a similar level. We have five different populations across five different platforms. Of course there's the technological barrier and difficulties of that, as well as the politics.

Wes: How does it feel to have, is it three Arc System Works games that are going to be on the main stage at EVO this year?

Mori: Of course we're very, very thankful. One of the titles being Dragon Ball, it's hard to say how much we really played a role in that, but it's a very heartwarming feeling.

Wes: There's never been another Dragon Ball game on the main stage of EVO, I don't think.

Mori: Our president is saying 10 years from now, I want only Arc games on EVO's main stage [laughs].

On a very personal level, it's a shame Central Fiction wasn't selected to be a main stage title. Going back to my previous point, if we did have Central Fiction, I think the Japanese players would have an advantage, which is not what I'm trying to do for this next era.

Wes: Within Arc System Works, which of your games are most popular in Japan, vs. the West?

Ishiwatari: As far as overseas is concerned, Double Dragon and the Kunio franchise really seem to have a lot of traction and popularity.

Mori: Of course, traditionally this has been a very niche kind of game, and the sort of branding that's been pushed, but with Anime Expo, Comic-Con, you see a lot more Japanese content, and even in US pop culture, what used to be subculture, comics, was always a more nerdy thing, is starting to take the main stage more and more. So I think if we can get people to see, hey, there's a really fun platform to engage upon, then that'll be really good.

Wes: If either of you could make an anime fighter from any series or property, what would you like to adapt?

Ishiwatari: The Simpsons [laughs].

Mori: Family Guy!

Ishiwatari: And Teen Titans is one of my personal favorites.

Mori: Oh, and Powerpuff Girls!

Developer Arc System Works has found success with Dragon Ball FighterZ, a gorgeous brawler that strikes the right balance between complexity and accessibility. It wants to do the same in the future, and for its Guilty Gear games that will mean streamlining the number of systems in order to attract a wider audience, series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari has said.

Speaking to Destructoid, Ishiwatari said that Guilty Gear games in the past have been "too complicated" for some players, and that Arc is keen to simplify them to "expand the userbase". Specifically, he wants to "reduce the number of systems" at play.

"After releasing Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 it's clear what we need to improve on. The key is to win over more users because of the complex controls," he said. "But if we implement everything the game will no longer be Guilty Gear. It's hard to balance out all the improvements. One thing that we have to do in the next installment is to reduce the number of systems; it's too complicated for everyone. You can expect that in the next game." 

He stressed that the series will still want to "maintain the people we've already won over", but his comments are surely a sign of a shift in focus. Perhaps those that enjoyed the complexity of the likes of Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- might not like future games as much. But then again, Dragon Ball FighterZ shows that Arc knows how to get the balance right. Let's wait and see.

Arc System Works' Guilty Gear Xrd is getting another updated version, and it's coming to PC. Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 was announced at the Arc System Works Fighting Game Awards 2016, which like a lot of Guilty Gear game titles is a mouthful to say (via Gematsu).

During the event, it was revealed that characters Baiken and Answer will be added as playable characters in Rev 2. Baiken returns from previous Guilty Gear games, while Answer makes his playable debut—he appeared as a character in the Story Mode in previous instalments of Xrd. You can check them both out in the trailer at the top of this article.

General director Daisuke Ishiwatari and battle planner Kazutoshi Sekine detailed some of the content in Rev 2, discussing new balance adjusments and techniques for existing characters. There's going to be a new scenario added to the story mode, in addition to new episodes for characters Jam Kuradoberi, Raven, Kum Haehyun, Dizzy, Baiken, and Answer. Apparently, major improvements have been made to the online mode as well. On top of all that, more features will be announced in the future.

Rev 2 launches in arcades in spring 2017, but no release date for PC has been announced. Those who already own Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator will be able to upgrade to Rev 2 through the purchase of discounted DLC. Revelator is currently $50 USD on Steam, so it's possible Rev 2 will cost the same for first-time buyers.

We'll keep you updated as more information about Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 is revealed.

Rev 2 is along the same lines as what Capcom does with its Street Fighter franchise. While Capcom will, at times, force players to buy an entire game to get new updates, it's nice to see Arc System Works giving existing owners a lower-priced option.

You might have noticed that we ve been a bit heavy on Street Fighter for these past few columns, what with a new game coming out and the beginning of the Capcom Pro Tour. This column, however, is dedicated to some of the other major fighting games that make up the pro/tournament scene: what they are, what they re about and where to start watching. Give them a look!

Mortal Kombat X

Okay, this one is a bit sad. When MKX was originally released, it made some pretty big waves and attracted some really good numbers to its various tournaments. The ESL League Finals were a whole load of fun and looked great, actually attracting a bit of mainstream publicity in the US. NetherRealm are looking to build off this success in the coming year with Kombat Pack 2, which adds a bunch of exciting new characters but, most importantly, is completely reworking the netcode to something resembling the GGPO model, which is the current fighting game standard for quality online play. For the most part, things are looking good for the next twelve months of Mortal Kombat.

Unfortunately, the PC version isn t receiving any of this, rendering it an almost completely pointless purchase on this platform. A terrible, foolish decision by Warner Bros and yet another black mark against their name when it comes to PC ports. A real shame, because Mortal Kombat XL is a damn fine game.

Where to start watching

Pro players and commentary team, the brothers PND Ketchup and Mustard, run an excellent YouTube channel dedicated to all aspects of Mortal Kombat X. As well as showcasing some really high-end gameplay and analysis, they have a series of videos dedicated to new players, which are useful even if you re only planning on watching MKX. They offer the right level of enthusiasm and analysis to help newcomers get an idea of what they re seeing. Also, The Kombat Kast is a sporadic video show that features news direct from NetherRealm. It is usually the first place you ll get to see hands-on with new builds of the game, characters and modes.

Guilty Gear Xrd

Released on Steam at the tail end of 2015, ARC Systemworks exciting anime fighter is a unique game and one with a hardcore, loyal following. Emphasis on the word hardcore , because Xrd is one of the most challenging fighting games currently out there. I mean, just take a look at the Dustloop Wiki—there s five bloody ways to block attacks!

It s good then that Xrd has one of the best tutorial modes in the genre, breaking down the game from the absolute basics to the more advanced systems and even frame information associated with the high-end of fighting game knowledge. Some of this stuff can even be applied to other games, meaning that although the skill ceiling on Guilty Gear Xrd is very high, there is a lot of stuff here for people looking to get properly into these games.

It also looks and sounds absolutely incredible. No, really. Just look at it. Just listen to it. BACK TO BACK! Death comes arrivin on a Midnight Train! YAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSS!

Where to start watching

There s not a lot of entry level content for GGXrd (which is why having that exceptional tutorial is so important) but there s some really good stuff out there if you want to see a lot of high-end gameplay. The best place is twitch.tv/joniosan, which re-streams the GGXrd stream from the legendary Mikado arcade in Tokyo. Streaming most days a week, and for hours at a time. If you miss the livestream, YouTube user Goldenrody uploads a load of it every week for you to catch at your leisure. You might need to understand Guilty Gear to get the most out of this content, but for those who take the plunge this is some really elite stuff.

Killer Instinct

Much like Mortal Kombat X, the World Cup took place in January, so we re in a kind of Off Season for KI right now. Season 3 of the game kicks off on the 29th March, which is going to feature some balance and gameplay tweaks, some additions to the UI that make it more spectator friendly and a host of new characters—KI2 classic characters Kim Wu and Tusk will join the roster alongside the first two guest characters Rash from Battletoads and The Arbiter from Halo. The PC version of the game is also set for release alongside the Season 3 launch, which allows for cross-platform online play and even cross-platform purchases.

Aye, that s right. Purchases. Killer Instinct actually follows the model popularised by League of Legends. The base game itself is free-to-play, with characters being cycled in to playable rotation, meaning that anyone (or at least, anyone with Windows 10, anyway) can at least give Killer Instinct a go. A robust training mode, clearly defined and easy to understand systems and some of the most interesting characters around mean that Killer Instinct is well worth a look when Season 3 gets here.

Where to start watching

Fighting game YouTube man extraordinaire Maximilian Dood is your go-to guy for Killer Instinct content. Some character analysis, plenty of online streams and, well, he s actually working in some capacity on the game now, so expect KI-centric content to ramp up exponentially after the 29th March. He tends to keep things fun and passionate about all things Killer Instinct rather than overly technical gameplay breakdowns, but regardless he s a pretty decent KI player anyway so is a good starting point for those looking to watch Microsoft s one and only exclusive fighting game.

PC Gamer Pro is dedicated to esports and competitive gaming. Check back every day for exciting, fun and informative articles about League of Legends, Dota 2, Hearthstone, CS:GO and more. GL HF!

I mentioned earlier today, in the news about Final Fantasy VI coming to Steam, that Guilty Gear Xrd Sign is also on the way—and due sooner than FFVI, too. It was interesting in the context of the moment because it doubled the number of games on yesterday's SteamDB leak list that have gone from rumored to confirmed, which of course means that a Half-Life 3 announcement is imminent. But as it turns out, developer Arc System Works has a lot more in store.

Guilty Gear Xrd Sign will be joined on Steam by four other Arc System Works releases, beginning with River City Super Sports Challenge All Stars Special, an action/sports game that's set to come out later this month. After that we'll get BlazBlue Chrono Phantasma Extend in February 2016, followed by Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code in the spring, and Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late in the summer.

Details on the latter four games are thin, but Arc System Works says Guilty Gear Xrd Sign will feature multiple game modes including a tutorial, as well as ranked and unranked online fights. 12 "familiar" characters and five new ones will come with the game, three of whom—Sin, Elphelt, and Leo—can be unlocked with in-game currency or purchased as DLC.

And since we're all just standing around, how about some system requirements?

• OS: Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1
• Processor: Intel Core i5, 2.0 GHz
• Memory: 2 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 / Radeon HD 7770
• DirectX: Version 9.0c
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Hard Drive: 10 GB available space
• Sound Card: Direct Sound

There's no "recommended" spec list, but given that the above is all fairly baseline (except for the CPU, which isn't super-high-end but still kind of an outlier compared to the rest of it) I don't imagine most of you will have any problems running it.

Guilty Gear Xrd Sign goes live on Steam tomorrow—that's December 9.