The New Guilty Gear Will Be 'a Game for Both New and Existing Players Alike'

A newly released statement from Arc System Works' Daisuke Ishiwatari -- the creative lead and general director of the Guilty Gear series -- sheds some light on the developer's upcoming project. Officially unveiled at Evo 2019, the next Guilty Gear game is set to arrive in 2020, but aside from its aforementioned reveal -- which came in the form of a stunning in-engine trailer -- we don't know much about it.

However, Ishiwatari's post provides a little more insight into what the studio wants to accomplish. "I'd just like to mention that this newest title is being developed with one goal in mind: to create a game both new and existing players alike would want to get their hands on," Ishiwatari writes. Naturally, this has caused a bit of a stir among hardcore Guilty Gear fans, with some worried that this next instalment is going to "dumb things down".

Accessibility remains a hot topic when it comes to fighting games, and Guilty Gear is generally regarded as one of the most in-depth properties on the market. That said, it's not like Arc System Works is a stranger to making its games easier to get into. Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2, for example, offers an optional 'Stylish Mode' that lets players perform complex combos with just a couple of buttons, yet it still manages to be one of the most hardcore titles out there.

More recently, the developer incorporated an auto-combo system into Dragon Ball FighterZ, which lets just about anyone pick up a controller and enjoy cool looking attack sequences. FighterZ isn't quite as robust as Guilty Gear when it comes to mechanics, but it's still got plenty of depth. The bottom line, as far as we're concerned, is that Arc System Works clearly knows what it's doing -- it's way too early to be concerned over the "dumbing down" of Guilty Gear based on a single statement.

"What we're pursuing is a brand new experience for Guilty Gear," Ishiwatari continues. "We've disassembled the current franchise into fragments ans sifted out the pieces that make it unique and charismatic, using those pieces to have a complete reconstruction of the franchise." Bold words from Ishiwatari, who admits that reforming Guilty Gear is a "high-risk move" for the developer.

It's going to be interesting to see which direction Arc System Works takes the next Guilty Gear, especially since it sounds like the studio is going all-in on trying something new. Hopefully any fears are put to bed once we see the game in action later this year.