Evo 2025: Full Game Lineup, Schedule, and All Changes
Evo 2025 is officially on the menu, with a lineup of eight games and fresh changes coming to the competition in Las Vegas this August.
If you are new to fighting games, the Evolution Championship Series or Evo is the biggest fighting game tournament of the year, bringing together top players from around the world to compete in the most popular new games while also highlighting the history of the FGC.
Since being acquired by Sony and its partners in 2021, Evo has rapidly evolved each year, improving its in-person offerings and live-stream broadcasts based on fan and attendee feedback. Evo 2025 is set to be the biggest iteration of the tournament series yet, and here is everything you need to know about the event.
When is Evo 2025: Full Evo Schedule?
Evo 2025 is moving back to August but staying in the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall, running from Aug. 1 to 3.
As always, the competition will run from Friday to Sunday, with competitions for every featured game, community brackets, and special events taking place live on the event floor. There will also be chances for attendees to play unreleased games, new characters, and plenty of other game demos in the same venue.
Before the main tournament, the Evo team has several other projects and events lined up throughout the year. Here are all of the other Evo events scheduled for 2025:
- The Evo Awards - Los Angeles, CA on Feb. 15
- Evo Japan 2025 - Tokyo, Japan from May 9 to 11
- Evo 2025 - Las Vegas, NV from Aug. 1 to 3
- Evo France 2025 - Nice, France from Oct. 10 to 12
Evo 2025 Full Game List and Details
Evo 2025 will feature a main lineup of eight games, seven ongoing titles, and one throwback game.
- Street Fighter 6 (Third Evo Appearance)
- Tekken 8 (Second Evo Appearance)
- Guilty Gear Strive (Fourth Evo Appearance)
- Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (Second Evo Appearance)
- Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes (Second Evo Appearance)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (Second Evo Appearance)
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (First Evo Appearance)
- Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (10th Evo Appearance)
On the main roster, there are no shocking exclusions, with Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves being the only new game as it replaces King of Fighters 15 from last year.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 making the cut as this year’s throwback title isn’t a surprise considering the resurgence of MvC competition following the release of Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. A special Tournament of Champions featuring many of the best MvC2 players in FGC history will also be happening live on-stage.
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Virtua Fighter 5 not getting the nod after receiving its first new balance update in 15 years and a new game announcement for the franchise could point to it being featured closer to the actual release of VF6—and it will be appearing in a new inclusion.
As part of the community content, Evo is also launching an “Evo Extended Lineup” where the Evo team is running official tournaments with medals and some prizing for these additional games:
- Rivals of Aether 2
- Virtua Fighter 5
- KoF 15
- BlazBlue: Central Fiction
- Killer Instinct (2013)
- More games will be added leading up to the event.
What is Changing at Evo 2025?
Evo 2025 will address many of the biggest problems Evo 2024 had as the biggest fighting game tournament of all time, including the long lines, seating issues, and somewhat odd scheduling for the finals.
To start, Evo 2025 is bringing back top eight finals for every featured game and adjusting the schedule to reflect this after switching to using top six last year.
The Evo Arena is getting an overhaul too after 2024’s iteration lacked enough seating and had massive lines to get in. It will be switching back to a separate event ticket, letting attendees save their seats and avoid large lines, and offer the “largest capacity” in Evo history—more details on this will be available when tickets go live for purchase on Feb. 15.
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For anyone not viewing the finals from the arena, a redesigned watch area will also be available in the main Evo venue for Sunday’s finals watch party, with its own hosts while casual setups remain open to play on. Likewise, an even bigger free-to-play arcade will be available to all attendees, with publisher booths, the artist alley, and the Evo Art Museum.
Various live streamers and community members will also return to host watch parties throughout the event in the main Evo venue and on Twitch, such as Maximillion Dood and Yo! Videogames, with “big improvements” from the 2024 setups.