I'll admit I'm not a big fighting game person. I enjoy playing the likes of Mortal Kombat casually, but I don't get giddy for a new release. The one exception to that is Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, which I've loved ever since Sony revealed it at its 2025 State of Play. Despite Sony declaring it's pulling back from PC launches going forward, the superhero fighter is still on the docket for our desktops.
Developer Arc System Works has just announced that a Marvel Tōkon open beta test will take place from July 24-26, available on PC and PS5. The previous closed playtest was exclusive to Sony's console—greedy. This open beta features more stages and modes compared to the previous test, as well as Blade. ASW promises further details are coming soon.
You asked. We delivered. The #MARVELTokon: Fighting Souls Open Beta launches July 24 PT! ⚔️ Play on PlayStation 5 and PC🔥 Blade joins the roster🌍 New stages✨ More modes We'll have more to share soon so stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/SGFmvLL3grJune 29, 2026
I'm just glad to finally be able to play the only fighting game I think I've ever actually been hyped for. Honestly, it's pretty ironic that Sony's retreating from PC while I'm jumping at the bit to play one of its console exclusives on my computer at launch. Maybe the previous PC ports would have done better if they had been released on both platforms simultaneously, but what do I know?
Alongside this news, Arc System Works has also revealed the final fifth superhero team coming at launch, the Samurai Outriders. All in all that brings the full roster to 20 heroes (or villains) across five different teams:
- Unbreakable X-Men : Storm, Magik, Wolverine, Danger
- Amazing Guardians : Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord, Peni Parker
- Fighting Avengers : Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, Hulk
- Knights of Doom : Doctor Doom, Magneto, Green Goblin, Carnage
- Samurai Outriders : Ghost Rider, Blade, Deadpool, Loki
That's a pretty stacked roster if you ask me, and I'm a massive fan of how these iconic characters have been represented here—Iron Man's Gundam-infused suit is perfect. The open beta will be a good chance for fighting game freshies like me to get the hang of things before the full game launches on August 6, 2026. I'll need it.
