Virtua Fighter 6's exhilarating proof-of-concept video at CES proves we're so back, and that you don't need 15 super meters and fantastical nonsense to make a sick fighter

In case you missed it, last night was the kick off show for CES 2025, a massive tech event in which the biggest companies in the industry show off all manner of fancy hardware that has been cooking behind the scenes. And while there were loads of exciting reveals worth checking out, my terminally ill fighting game player brain has obviously been fixated on the brief glimpse at Virtua Fighter 6 during NVIDIA's presentation.

To boil down the whole talk into pure, Virtua Fighter ridden goodness, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang took the stage during the NVIDIA keynote and briefly took the audience through the history of the company. He shows that back in 1993 NVIDIA kicked off its journey with the NV1, which was first used by SEGA for its Virtua Fighter Remix. He then fast forwards to 1999 and the invention of the GPU, tying the power of the GPU with a "completely cinematic" Virtua Fighter 6 snippet.

This short Virtua Fighter 6 video would then be uploaded to YouTube on its lonesome, which we'll link below. It's worth noting straight away that the clip is not actual gameplay footage, instead a "pre-development concept video". So everything you see shouldn't be taken as a one-to-one depiction of the final game, VF6 producer and game designer Riichiro Yamada stated this outright on Twitter in reference to Akira's model. Instead, take it as a pitch, a quick peak of what we can expect.

First off, if it wasn't clear from post-reveal interviews like this wonderful piece by Saito Moge at Famitsu, Virtua Fighter 6 is true to its roots. We see naught but martial arts combat - two guys dodging, kicking, and punching each other's lights out. It's all very choreographed, clearly meant to emulate the sort of fighting you'd see in a martial arts film, or even a real fight between two skilled fighters. That's exactly what Virtua Fighter was made for, a relatively realistic depiction of melee combat where competitors in the genre take a more fantastical approach.

Now, given it's a proof-of-concept, it's incredibly unlikely this is what the game will look like when two real players are mashing buttons online, but as a tone setter it does its job. We even see Akira in his shirtless player 2 colours get sent flying into a pile of boxes, which of course shatter into piles of wood. Nice.

The thing that stood out to me, aside from the visual quality at play here, is the lack of visual clutter. You get two health bars, that's it. No EX meter, no random bars or Mountain Dew Baja Blast super gauges. It's barebones, putting the fighting itself front and centre. If this is what we can expect from Virtua Fighter 6 when it actually comes out, it'll be a wonderful decision. One that proves the developers at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios understand what's important in Virtua Fighter - something you'd expect from the team that kept the series alive in the many arcades spread around the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series.

The counter argument here is that the video is intended to showcase the combat itself, how fluid it is, and put the "cinematic" flow of the game in full display. As such, there's no reason why additional screen clutter would be present. In fact, if there was any, stripping it back so the CES audience could get a clear look at the game makes sense. This is a good point! Judging from other games, you'll probably see your opponents account name, maybe their rank if you're playing a competitive game mode. But looking at prior Virtua Fighter games, as well as taking into account that Famitsu interview in which the devs state "it's not about making the game more flashy", I think it's reasonable to assume this is largely what a match in Virtua Fighter 6 will look like.

Ultimately it's such a refreshing sneak peak because so many fighting games these days have leaned into that flashiness, that desire to give players ample options outside of basic attacks. It's impressive to watch in contrast to games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8. But even more than that, it's a strong argument that you don't need all that extra junk to make a fight compelling to play and watch.

There's a reason that explosive, impactful martial arts movies are still beloved, why down-to-earth action media without giant dragons attached to 15-second long supers, five car collisions on the highway, and FADC 60 hit combos still have an audience. Zooming the camera into Akira as he sends the other fighter soaring into a pile of boxes, which cathartically erupt, is all you need if given the proper animation work. When we finally get to play Virtua Fighter 6, it'll be even better to pull it off as long as the game design team makes that massive punch feel as heavy and impactful as it looks. That's what making a good fighting game is all about at the end of the day.

It's a tiny gameplay reveal, but one that has made me very hopeful. It's one thing to hear that the devs have a passion for Virtua Fighter, but seeing this short video on display adds merit to those statements. If I wasn't keen to get my hands on VIrtua Fighter 6 before, I certainly am now. And so should you!