Virtua Fighter Fans Hope the New Game Comes Close to Matching This Incredible In-Engine Concept Video

Sega has released what it calls a “pre-development concept video” for Virtua Fighter 6, but made clear it does not reflect how the upcoming fighting game will look and play when it eventually comes out.

The video, below, shown during Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote speech at CES 2025, features incredibly realistic and fluid animations for a fighting game. We see an Akira mirror match with the kind of combat usually reserved for a martial arts movie.

Rekindling memories of Sony’s infamous Killzone 2 reveal E3 2005 trailer, this Virtual Fighter video is a concept only, although it is “in-engine.” The animations on display are beyond what we’ve seen from fighting game gameplay in other titles, and the speed and fluidity of the movement is a step beyond normal fighting game gameplay.

Sega, though, made clear that what we’re seeing here should not be considered Virtua Fighter 6 gameplay, stressing: “Please note that this is a concept video created before development began. The actual gameplay and characters may differ from what is shown.”

Still, Virtua Fighter fans are excited by the return of the legendary series and the prospect that its visuals may approach the level we’re seeing in this concept video. “If they somehow manage to get the animations to look even remotely close to this in the final game, that’d be insane,” said one fan. “Regardless, I’m excited.”

Virtua Fighter 6 is in development at Yakuza / Like a Dragon studio Ryo Ga Gotoku and is without a release window or target platforms. Virtua Fighter hasn’t seen a mainline release in years, leaving mini-game appearances in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Yakuza games and the 2021 release of Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown to tide fans over.

Virtua Fighter, which includes characters such as Akira Yuki, Pai Chan, and Wolf Hawkfield, is on the hardcore end of the fighting game spectrum, with slower-paced gameplay that challenges players to master its mechanics in order to enjoy success. Virtua Fighter 5, which first released in 2006, is considered one of the greatest fighting games of all time.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.