Evo 2022 lineup includes SFV, Guilty Gear, no Super Smash Bros.

Mar 8, 2022

Reading time: 3 min

The game lineup for Evo 2022 has been confirmed and it features a mix of old favorites and newcomers.

Evo hosted its announcement show for Evo 2022 and revealed the X games set to get main stage treatment at Evo 2022. It was also confirmed that the current plan is to have Evo 2022 hosted live in Las Vegas once again, rather than hosting an online event.

Alongside this, the finals schedule will be determined by the number of entrants for each game, with the game with the most registrants being the final game of the event.

The Evo 2022 game lineup includes the following titles:

Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
Guilty Gear Strive
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate
Tekken 7
KOF XV
Melty Blood: Type Lumina
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Granblue Fantasy Versus
Skullgirls 2nd Encore

Most of the games on the Evo 2022 lineup are no surprise. The latest Street Fighter title has traditionally served as the main event of Evo. With Street Fighter 6 still in development and likely a long way away from release, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition is remaining on tap and was the first game announced.

DBFZ MK11 and Melty so Far for me. May enter Tekken just for fun.
— SonicFox (@SonicFox) March 9, 2022

There were a few games on the list that were largely expected to be included. Tekken 7 has been hosted at Evo each year since its release in 2015, Mortal Kombat 11 has gotten the same treatment since 2019, and Guilty Gear will return after being a part of Evo 2021 Online. Dragon Ball FighterZ will also return to the Evo mainstage for a third time after being left off the bill for Evo 2021 Online.

Past that is where things get interesting. King of Fighters is set to return at Evo for the first time since 2017 with KOF XV. The game is the newest release on the Evo 2022 lineup, having dropped in February.

Melty Blood is set to return to Evo for the first time in 12 years with Melty Blood: Type Lumina. The series was last seen in 2010 with Melty Blood: Actress Again, which was included based on a fan poll where it beat a number of classic titles.

Granblue Fantasy Versus is finally set to be a main stage game for Evo 2022. The game was originally meant to be a part of Evo 2020 before the event’s cancellation and was relegated to side tournament status for Evo 2021. Evo 2022 will see it get main stage treatment for the first time, more than two years removed from its original release.

Finally, Skullgirls: 2nd Encore will return to the Evo main stage for the second year in a row. The fan-favorite fighting game Skullgirls made its long-awaited debut as an official Evo tournament last year, but will get a proper showing as part of the Evo 2022 game lineup.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Melee both left off Evo 2022 lineup

The announcement show gave confirmation that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Melee will not be a part of Evo 2022.

The most noteworthy exclusion from the list is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which Evo announced would not be included in the lineup this year. Though details weren’t given on the decision, Evo’s wording suggests it came at the behest of Nintendo.

pic.twitter.com/7YEX1ZgG4W
— EVO (@EVO) February 26, 2022

Super Smash Bros. has a long history at Evo, dating back to 2007 with Melee. Smash became a mainstay of Evo starting in 2013 despite Nintendo’s attempts to shut the tournament down. Smash 4 for the Nintendo WiiU was later added and was later replaced by Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch.

Smash was excluded from Evo 2021 Online and while this was initially chalked up to the game’s notoriously terrible netcode it’s possible there were other factors at play here.

Evo 2022 start date

Evo 2022 will run from August 5-7, 2022.

Alongside the traditional fighting game tournament, Evo 2022 will feature a variety of artists, vendors, and others to purchase fighting game merch from. Alongside this will be casual setups, side tournaments, and a free-to-play arcade.

For those looking to participate in Evo tournaments, registration is open now.