This year also marks a significant expansion for the event in terms of floor space, with major tournaments taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Mandalay Bay sports arena.
Competitors from across the world will gather at EVO 2016 to take on challengers in Capcom’s Street Fighter V, a long-awaited series sequel that will make its PC and PlayStation 4 debut a few short months before the tournament begins. To date, veteran players have had limited hands-on time with Street Fighter V outside of convention appearances and infrequent beta tests hosted by publisher Capcom.
Street Fighter V replaces tournament mainstay Ultra Street Fighter IV at this year’s event, forcing Street Fighter experts to adapt their strategies to the latest series entry over the course of the next several months.
Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7 Fated Retribution also joins the EVO 2016 lineup, despite the game’s limited distribution to date. Few Tekken 7 cabinets ever made their way to North American arcades, and planned console ports may not surface until after EVO 2016, giving players based in Japan an advantage over competitors from other regions.
Pokken Tournament, an unconventional fighter that combines Nintendo’s Pokemon characters with mechanics from Bandai Namco’s Tekken series, is another game slated for tournament play at EVO 2016. An arcade version hit Japan last year, and a Wii U port is due to launch worldwide in March. Other Nintendo-published brawlers appearing at EVO 2016 include Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and its GameCube predecessor Super Smash Bros. Melee.
EVO 2016 will additionally host tournaments for Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator, Mortal Kombat X, Killer Instinct, and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The event will kick off on July 15th and will continue through July 17th.
