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While SEGA offered a generous sneak peek at both its upcoming titles, New Virtua Fighter Project and Stranger Than Heaven, it offered no release dates for the titles just yet, despite growing anticipation from fans.
Sega and RGG Studio pulled back the curtain on the upcoming New Virtua Fighter Project with a teaser trailer at Tokyo Game Show 2025, incorporated into a larger fifty-minute presentation, which not only showcased the game’s fluid combat animations but also took a deep dive into the game’s battle rules and three gameplay systems to breathe new life into the series.
For those looking for more insights, Ryu Ga Gotoku’s RGG Direct Summit, held a day before the TGS festivities, offered a behind-the-scenes look at Stranger Than Heaven’s development.
The New Virtua Fighter Project introduces two new sets of rules. The Standard rules pay homage to the series’ foundational mechanics, where players win a round by defeating an opponent or executing a ring out, with the match given to the first player to win three rounds. However, the New Virtua Fighter Project will also feature the new Uprising rules, which will implement three new systems: Break and Rush, Flow Guard, and Stunner and Stun Combo.
Break and Rush will allow players to target damage to a part of the opponent’s body until a break state activates, leaving the opponent open to follow-up special moves. The aftereffects of Break and Rush will carry over into the upcoming rounds.
Stunner and Stun Combo will seamlessly chain together moves for more realistic back-and-forth exchanges without the need for complex inputs similar to Tekken 8’s Special Style.
Rounding out the gameplay systems, Flow Guard is tied into Break and Rush, allowing players to parry an opponent’s attacks and subsequently perform counters.
Apart from The Virtua Fighter Project’s combat, the RGG Summit held on September 24, 2025, announced Yakuza Kiwami 3 and ended the RGG Direct showcase with a brief behind-the-scenes look at the studio’s new IP, Stranger Than Heaven, with a 1943 noir and jazz-themed opening sequence, showcasing RGG’s workflow and motion capture performances for the game.
Both Sega and RGG games, Stranger Than Heaven and New Virtua Fighter Project, have yet to receive a release date announcement. Sega’s financial reports indicate that the game could be announced sometime during its fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2027.
On the same note, fans are yet to receive a deeper hands-on look at the New Virtua Fighter Project, but given the brief teaser, the title itself could be planned for a release further into 2027 or by early 2028.
Rahim Amir Noorali – Tech Writer – 299 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2025
I am a UAE-based tech writer who likes to build and benchmark PCs both professionally and as a hobby. I contribute to multiple tech publications, including TechRadar and NotebookCheck, as well as Game Rant, where I focus primarily on news, commerce, and buying guides. When I’m not scouring the internet for the latest in tech stories, you will find me playing a game of Civilization or DotA with friends and frenemies alike while dropping recommendations for Apple TV+’s Foundation to everyone I come across.
