New Dragon Ball Fighting Game Leaked Ahead of E3

Bandai Namco just announced (accidentally) a brand new Dragon Ball fighting game in development with Arc System Works, the studio behind Guilty Gear. It's being called Dragon Ball Fighters, but that may end up getting localized differently. It's currently slated to launch for PS4, Xbox One, and PC early next year. This will be a 2.5D fighting game and, according to a Japanese press release that leaked a little early, players will form teams of three selecting from the series' most well-known fighters.

As noted, the Japanese press release is dated for June 12, meaning that the game was leaked a little sooner than Bandai Namco intended. Given the date, it's entirely possible that this is actually an E3 leak. We could see a trailer for this game on Monday, and I have a feeling it's going to look gorgeous. Arc System Works has taken a unique direction with recent Gulity Gear games, utilizing an art and rendering style that looks very convincingly like hand-drawn 2D art when, in reality, they're actually 3D models styled to look like cartoons.

This is a perfect fit for a Dragon Ball game and this could end up being, far and away, the best-looking Dragon Ball game we've ever played. If you take a look at the few screenshots we were able to scavenge from the leaked press release, you'll see what we mean. We had to enlarge them a little a sacrifice a little image quality, but you can see that they have a very authentic feel to them and capture that flagship Akira Toriyama style.

If you're not familiar with the term 2.5D, just think Street Fighter or Guilty Gear. Instead of the full 3D movement like you're used to in games like Dragon Ball Xenoverse or Tekken, this will take a more traditional, left-to-right approach. Expect plenty of non-traditional surprises, though. Arc System Works is one of the best studios in the business right now, and its fighting games are world class and flashy. The press release tells us to expect "ultra high speed battles" and "flashy special moves" that we've come to expect from Dragon Ball.

We'll have more on Dragon Ball Fighters (or whatever this ends up being called) on Monday, so stay tuned!

(via Gematsu)