2026’s Fighting Games All Share the Same Secret That Will Keep Them Alive for Years

Fighting Games have a stacked 2026, with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, 2XKO‘s official console release, and Invincible Vs. all putting together fantastic brawls for players to jump in on. Whether its Arc System Works’ unique interpretation of classic comic characters or iconic Invincible or League of Legends figures battling it out, fans of the genre have plenty to look forward to. However, veteran players will know that each of these games have something in common that bodes well for a longer future than others might expect.

Traditional fighting games sometimes struggle to keep an audience, with new character DLC and balance patches keeping things fresh every so often. You may notice that 2026’s lineup of fighting games are less formulaic though, opting to have 2v2, 3v3, or even an ambitious 4v4 approach to their gameplay. This alone sets these games apart from typical 1v1 experiences, as their adaptations allow for more dynamic player expression through their expanded mechanics.

Tag Team Fighting Games Dominate 2026 With Multiple Titles Releasing This Year

At least three different fighting games with tag team mechanics are planned to come out in 2026, with some already having playable demos in some way. Invincible Vs. had an online alpha that was received well, while Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls had multiple betas that got fans excited too. Although 2XKO has been released in an Early Access state somewhat, this year will expand its audience to console systems, allowing its free-to-play format to reach a broader group of players.

Throughout the last few months, these games have only been ramping up their marketing, with some even gaining new characters to their existing roster. Season 1 for 2XKO begins with its inclusion on consoles, while Invincible Vs. has been releasing character trailers fairly frequently. With Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls letting players take control of eight distinct characters, players are starting to get a good idea about how all of these games will play and feel.

The fact that all of these games are tag fighters implies that their gameplay will feature many systems similar to Dragon Ball FighterZ or Marvel vs Capcom in their full release. This means that rosters will be bigger to account for characters assisting members of their team, with explosive mechanics that plan for multiple fighters on the screen at once. When it comes to maintaining tag team fighters, rosters are incredibly important, demanding more attention than other titles in the genre.

Battles With Multiple Characters Together Demand More Frequent Fighter Drops

The existence of multiple tag team fighting games in 2026 means that each roster they have needs to grow to match the nature of their gameplay. The biggest secret behind tag fighters is that since you are playing more than one character at a time, a larger roster is needed to keep the cast feeling unique from one another. 2XKO already has a perfect example of this, as each of its characters have incredibly deep, character-specific options that help them stand out in different roles with a 2-fighter team.

To keep things fresh in a tag fighter, characters release faster to give players more fighters to work into teams with the rest of the roster. For a comparison, look at Street Fighter 6‘s release schedule, which adds a new character every 3-4 months. In contrast, Dragon Ball FighterZ put out a new character from its DLC passes around 30 days sooner, sometimes faster depending on the announcement of new characters in the first place.

New characters for tag fighters are more abundant than they are in 1v1 fighting games, giving you far more faces to pick between by the time they reach their limits. With Invincible Vs. showing off new characters in sets of three and 2XKO dropping at least one new character every in-game Season, it seems like 2026’s fighting games are following this tag team trend too.

New & Interesting Fighters Coming Out Periodically Keeps Fighting Games Fresh For Everyone

New characters are the easiest ways to keep up hype for fighting games, especially if they have a dedicated audience. For games like Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, this is made far easier given the iconic status of Marvel Comics characters and their special history among fighting games from Marvel vs. Capcom in the past. For that game, adding characters will always manage to increase the longevity of the title beyond a few balance patches.

With continual character releases for Invincible Vs. and 2XKO, this rule also applies. 2XKO has an evergreen roster of characters it could use from League of Legends‘ vast library, allowing the fighting game’s roster to almost grow indefinitely. Likewise, Invincible Vs. has not only the creator of the Invincible comic series designing a new character for its game, but it can also pull popular figures from the Amazon series as they appear in new seasons.

With fighting games taking a turn toward longer developer support, as seen with games like Guilty Gear Strive and Street Fighter 6, character additions only increase the odds of different titles staying alive for longer. Tag fighters have a higher chance of outlasting other fighting games already, so by following patterns from past titles in the sub-genre, each of 2026’s biggest releases may stick around for years to come.

What do you think about all the tag team fighting games coming out in 2026? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!