Evo, through a livestream on its official Twitch page, has announced the lineup for the upcoming Evo 2022. As PlayStation, along with eSports venture RTS, gained ownership of Evo last year and has hosted multiple online community tournaments since then, Nintendo has unfortunately declined to participate in the event despite Super Smash Bros. Melee and Ultimate being popular headliners in the past.
Which games made it to Evo 2022?
The full Evo 2022 lineup has an interesting mix of fighting games with about half having made an appearance in past EVO tournaments and the other half making their debut:
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Tekken 7
- Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Guilty Gear: Strive
- Granblue Fantasy Versus
- Skullgirls 2nd Encore
- Melty Bood: Type Lumina
- The King of Fighter XV
As for the Super Smash Bros. titles, EVO announced last week through a tweet that despite the series being featured at the tournament since 2007, “Nintendo has chosen not to continue that legacy with us this year.” That said, EVO hopes that it makes a return in the future, but since Nintendo has signed with Panda Global to expand their Smash Bros. World Tour, it is likely that they will go their separate ways.
The fighting game tournament will make a return to Las Vegas, taking place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center between August 5-7, after the Covid-19 pandemic forced Evo to become largely an online-only affair for the last few years. It has been confirmed that the event will have arcade cabinets on-site as well as plenty of water stations to remain hydrated throughout the event.
Evo 2020 was canceled due to accusations of sexual harassment by longtime organizer Joey Cuellar. Evo co-founders, brothers Tom and Tony Cannon, still remain as part of the event as advisors.
In other news, PlayStation’s State of Play will be live soon, though Sly Cooper, God of War, and Infamous likely won’t be there, and multiple game publishers such as Ubisoft, Activision, and Take-Two Interactive have halted game sales in Russia.
