As predicted, 2025 was a big year for the fighting game community (FGC). However, not every title had an equally successful season.
This year was full of massive FGC events, exciting new games and surprising downfalls. As everyone heads into 2026, Esports Insider takes a look at the fighting games that had the best 2025, and those that struck out with the FGC.
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Fighting Games That Won in 2025
Let’s first take a look at the fighting game scenes that dominated throughout the year, from promising new entries to the continued dominance of iconic titles.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves took Best Fighting at The Game Awards 2025, which came as no surprise to the FGC. It was the only completely new fighting game released in 2025 on the list, so it seemed like a free win. However, Fatal Fury earned it the old-fashioned way throughout the year.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves had a massive esports debut at Evo 2025, with veterans from the FGC participating in one of the most hype Top 8 matches of the event. It then had a $2.5m (~£1.8m) tournament at the SNK World Championship.
Looking into 2026, SNK appears to be fully supporting Fatal Fury’s growing esports scene, and the FGC can expect more high-level action at Evo and beyond.
2XKO
Riot Games’ 2v2 fighting game is only in Early Access, and it’s still proven to shake up the fighting game scene completely. With Riot determined to bring 2XKO to mainstream audiences and a community of fighting game fans that are excited by its complex gameplay, 2XKO is likely going to be a top FGC title in 2026.
Throughout 2025, there were plenty of prominent 2XKO tournaments with top fighters looking to cement themselves as one of the best early into the game’s scene. With a fully supported esports scene that will likely be organised and feature hype production, 2XKO has built a strong foundation going into the new year.
Tekken 8
Despite a very unpopular Season 2 update that left the game feeling a bit too simplified for the competitive scene, Tekken 8 has continued to dominate the FGC scene. Its Evo viewership was impressive, but what has made Tekken stand out in the FGC this year was its storylines.
In particular, Arslan Ash. His 2025 was incredible, adding two more Evo titles to his long list of victories. He received a Red Bull documentary about his undisputed spot at the top of Tekken 8 esports, creating plenty of exciting storylines and passionate rivalries heading into the game’s next season.
Fighting Games That Lost in 2025
Unfortunately, not every fighting game title had the same amount of support and hype this year. These are the games that appear to be struggling to remain relevant as the FGC landscape evolves.
Mortal Kombat 1
Mortal Kombat is a classic fighting game series that dates all the way back to the arcades. While it has remained somewhat popular, it has struggled to find success in recent years due to Mortal Kombat 1‘s unpopular changes to the game’s core mechanics and fighter movesets.
After Mortal Kombat 1 struggled to get signups for Evo 2025, fans were saddened, but not surprised, to see the game’s omission in the Evo 2026 line-up. Its removal was a harsh wakeup call for the MK1 esports scene, with its fans quick to blame NetherRealm for its slow updates and poor design choices.
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros. has always been on the struggle bus, so 2025 wasn’t really anything new. Small prize pools and low viewership are just part of the challenge for Smash, which has no support from Nintendo. However, the dedication and determination of the scene’s community, especially Melee, have kept the scene alive (maybe even out of spite).
The reason Smash is mentioned here is also due to an unfortunate end to the year, which saw Nintendo being very, very slow to approve Super Smash Bros. licenses to tournament organisers. This left many big, long-running majors, like Battle Of BC, sharing tournament line-ups without Melee or Ultimate present next year.
It definitely hasn’t given fans much hope going into 2026.
MultiVersus
Once claimed to be a possible “Smash killer,” MultiVersus was shut down in May 2025. Online servers are now permanently offline.
MultiVersus had a short esports run, often appearing in tournaments alongside Super Smash Bros. as it built up an esports scene and fanbase. Many in the FGC believed it had a chance to be great, accusing developers of hindering the game’s growth with questionable choices, such as locked characters.
Source: https://esportsinsider.com/
