**Originally posted on March 8th, 2022**
Today’s the day that the Evo 2022 announcement of which games will be playable on the main stage, is here.
If you haven’t already heard, the EVO Championship series will return as a physical event, and as such, there’s excitement in the air as to which games will be part of the fighting game lineup. EVO will make its return to Las Vegas from August 5 -7, 2022 and it’s good to see the event returning to its former glory.
Of course, one game that won’t be part of the largest fighting game event in the world is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Sadly, Nintendo decided they did not want to be part of the event this year, and this likely could be due to Sony/PlayStation now being an owner of the fighting game event. This also could be due to Nintendo partnering up with Panda Global for officially licensed Super Smash Bros. eSports tournaments. Either way, it’s going to be weird not having Super Smash Bros. on the main stage.
Now, let’s get to the Evo 2022 lineup.
- Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
- Guilty Gear Strive
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Tekken 7
- King of Fighters XV
- Melty Blood Type Lumina
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Granblue Fantasy Versus
- Skullgirls
While these games will be on the main stage at Evo 2022, this isn’t the order. The order will be determined by the number of registrations per game. The game will the most participants will be the last game, to close out Evo 2022, while the game with the least will be the first game played.
The game lineup wasn’t the only thing announced. During the Evo 2022 reveal live stream it was revealed that the casuals and community section at the event would be the largest one in history. They’ve gone as far as to say that it will be larger than the entire Combo Breaker fighting game event. There will be an arcade with actual cabinets on hand for everyone to play. Not to mention that everyone will be able to hydrate with water at 45 different stations, throughout the event. That’s some fantastic news.
It’s been a roller coaster ride for Evo, these past few years. Not only did we see a management change-up, but PlayStation and extremely popular Twitch streamer Pokimane became co-owners of the event. Then we saw the founder and owner of another fighting game event, Combo Breaker, Rick “TheHadou” Thiher become the new General Manager of Evo. Rick is such a stand-up person, and I see great things on the horizon for Evo.
Oh, and registration for Evo 2022 is now live, so head on over to Evo.gg and sign-up!
So there you have it. Did your favorite game/s make it in? Let us know what you think about the EVO 2022 fighting game lineup over at @theouterhaven!