Granblue Fantasy: Versus Rising Announced

Granblue Fantasy: Versus was released at an unfortunate time, specifically within the first few months of 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly spread. With the physical tournament scene slowing down and the flaws of delay-based netcode becoming far more apparent, it felt as if its exposure was limited. Still, a loyal fan base remained and supported it enough to be featured as a main-stage tournament for EVO 2022.

Many in the community have had their fingers crossed in hopes of Arc System Works retroactively adding rollback netcode to help make it more appealing for new players to jump in. The developer has done the same for their own published titles and even Dragon Ball FighterZ is set to receive a rollback update in the future after all. While that doesn’t appear to be in the cards anymore, something even more exciting was revealed at Granblue Fantasy Fest over the weekend: a sequel with all the improvements that fans could want.

Titled Granblue Fantasy: Versus Rising, it seems to be less of a fully-fledged sequel and more akin to Arc System Works’ follow-ups to games such as the Guilty Gear Xrd series. All 24 characters (including DLC) will return, as well as all of the chapters in the story mode.

Every aspect will see a hefty serving of updates though. Some of the content to look forward to includes new stages, characters, and a new story. There will also be new mechanics introduced, such as Ultimate Skills which slow down the opponent’s movement. Updated shaders and effects result in a fresh visual look as well that’s meant to better emulate the original art of the Granblue Fantasy series.

Online enhancements will also be added. The space to interact with lobby avatars has been expanded to a large island, while a brand-new mode called “Grand Bruise Legends” will let players use their avatars in battle royale party games akin to Fall Guys. Naturally, what will be the biggest selling point for most is the inclusion of rollback netcode and crossplay. The final update for the original Granblue Fantasy: Versus has already gone live. Granblue Fantasy: Versus Rising will release later this year for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.