Fighting games in 2026: Which will reign supreme?

In a surprising turn of events, 2026 will be a year filled with new fighting game releases. It’s one of those rare cases where the Fighting Game Community, a corner of gaming that has always been niche, will have too much to catch up on, which is a brilliant problem to have. Esports games for 2026 seem to be in a great space, nonetheless.

Still, given the time required to learn fighting games, the likelihood is that most players will have to pick one or two options. These new fighting games will also need to compete with the massive names still going strong, like Tekken 8 and Street Fighter 6, but with the quality of the titles coming out, they might have a fair shot.

So, let’s take a look at the 2026 fighting games launching for the year and see which has the best chance of succeeding. 

From a success standpoint, we will evaluate how well a game will do in terms of potential player numbers, longevity, and esports success. All four titles are based on pre-existing IPs that come with sizable fanbases, which will, of course, have a bearing on how well the games will do. This will also be taken into account, and how well the IP will lend itself to the game’s life-cycle beyond its release.

Here are the four 2026 fighting games we will be comparing, and then grading out of 10:

Out of all the games on our list, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is the one fighting the biggest uphill battle with its IP. While the Netflix show has helped, it’s not as hot an IP in 2025 compared to the others that fighting games are based on. It will certainly help more than harm, bringing the ever-loyal Avatar fans to the game.

Still, Avatar Legends’ greatest asset is the game itself. It looks incredible, being hand-drawn and animated to look just like the series. There has also been wide praise for the game’s mechanics, with many stating that Avatar Legends plays like a real contender for the fighting game space.

With the game being fully 2D, it will age well, and seems to have the mechanical complexity to be a decent esports game, but the initial player numbers will be the hard part. There will be plenty of characters to add to the game too, but getting a large enough audience and keeping them will be the initial hurdle.

Invincible has become massively popular since Amazon Prime dropped its first season in 2021, and being such a hot property will help it get a mighty launch playerbase. The show is only three seasons deep, as of December 2025, and as more seasons are added, there is more potential for marketing and adding characters to Invincible VS.

While it hasn’t been released yet, the consensus is that Invincible VS plays well, but does feel quite clunky, largely due to the jank of the animations. There is still time for this to be improved, but this could be a conscious choice, since the Mortal Kombat series has often had similar complaints. 

The game looks decent, stylised enough to age reasonably well, and the Invincible IP is certainly going to help the game, but there are some concerns about how it plays for its esports and competitive hopes. It very much feels like a stylised, tag-fighter version of Mortal Kombat, mechanically speaking, which has had esports success. With refinement, Invincible VS could be a strong contender.

League of Legends is getting more popular year on year, and after Netflix’s Arcane blew minds, 2XKO feels like it has a lot to take advantage of. This League of Legends fighting game feels like a perfect vessel for those who want to get involved with the world of Runterra, but don’t want to play LoL, while also appealing to those who love the MOBA and want even more from the IP.

In early access, the game has been praised for its quick, intense gameplay, and as an esports product, it has one of the best studios behind it: Riot Games, which has cultivated LoL and VALORANT. The co-op mechanics also give players something no other fighter has, and with all the characters 2XKO has yet to add from League, longevity is assured. Being free-to-play massively helps, too.

The game’s stylised aesthetic suits the League IP well; it has received strong reviews in its early access stage, it has the Riot Games esports knowledge behind it, and plenty of characters to keep it going for a long time. The only question is if it offers enough to truly compete with the big guns in the FGC, which only time will tell.

Marvel is one of the biggest media IPs in the world, and while the MCU isn’t at its peak, everyone has heard of Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, and so on. That is one of Marvel Tōkon’s greatest assets, along with being a PlayStation Studios game and having one of the most well-regarded names in the FGC developing the project: Arc System Works.

Arc System Works has a record of excellence with fighting games, and is a name that the FGC always gets excited about. Gameplay-wise, it also feels like an admittedly slower spiritual sequel to Marvel VS Capcom. While it is missing the Capcom, those fans will likely flock to this Marvel fighting game, and those who love fighting games, who more than likely know about Arc System Works, will check it out.

Longevity shouldn’t be a problem with Marvel’s practically infinite roster, and Arc System Works has shown it can keep a game going for a long time in the esports scene with Dragon Ball FighterZ. As long as the game hits the ground running at the start, there isn’t much of a reason to believe Tokon: Fighting Souls won’t succeed. 

While many IP-driven games have often been associated with quick cash grabs, especially movie tie-in titles, this doesn’t seem to be the case with the 2026 fighting games. All these games are being properly funded and competently developed, with early access painting flattering pictures of what the final products will look like. 

It feels like these games will be great additions to the competitive space and would make strong 2026 esports games. They would all have to compete with each other, and for a relatively niche part of the industry, four titles in one year may be too much, but there’s no reason why they can’t all co-exist in some form. Sure, some might not be as successful as others, but the Fighting Game Community will be having a great year in 2026.