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Evo registrations have concerning drop

cormack12

cormack12

Gold Member
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20260617211051/https://www.polygon.com/evo-2026-fewer-competitors/

Evo is historically the largest fighting game tournament in the world and it takes place each year in Las Vegas. Capcom, Bandai Namco, and other fighting game developers also use the show to make announcements or debut new characters for their games. As such, a dip in popularity like this is a bit concerning.

When the registration numbers were shared on June 12, Street Fighter 6 had the most participants with 2,414. That's significantly less than the 4,228 people who competed in the same game at Evo 2025. Tekken 8, Guilty Gear Strive, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves all saw similar declines. Rivals of Aether 2 was unaffected, having more entrants than last year.

This caused speculation over why the numbers dropped, and there are several potential reasons why this happened. Evo 2026 is taking place earlier than usual this year, in June rather than August. There are also more Evo-branded tournaments happening around the world than before. Evo Japan happened in May, and Evo France is slated for October.
 
The drop off makes sense because if you're attending a big FGC event like EVO, people typically just enter every game, especially SF at least.

So if other games aren't flourishing (which is what it feels like to me observing a community I used to be more involved with) then all the numbers go down.

Like NRS fumbling MK1 was bad.
Current Tekken doesn't seem that hot.
GGS and DBFZ alongside it before, are games that have been out for awhile now and were always a rung below in entrants and interest.
Then you have Smash which has been gone for awhile now which hurts.

Feels like SF6 is the only thing holding up numbers and attention for now.
 
There are so many EVOs now. The brand is diluted. Plus with the state of America right now, nobody wants to travel to America. Evo Japan had very healthy numbers and a lot of my friends chose to go there instead of EVO Vegas.
 
Combo Breaker is the new EVO.
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Vegas 🤮

Everybody is working their second jobs to get that Tifa DLC (or are readying their mods for when she releases).
Plus Tekken 8 being in the cannister doesn't help either.
 
lockdown2222 said:
Cost of living has also gone up, might be tough for some of these people to get there, too.
Click to expand...

understatement of the year right here tbh

my friend group, mostly mid 30's early 40's married couples, getting time to do stuff now is easier but them having money to do anything other than visit each others houses is getting blood from a stone. Like just about everyone I know is fucking broke as a joke. Last month I had to lend my best bud money to buy his kids food as he was short payday by 48 hours... it's rough out there. He has a decent paying job too, more so than me. Scary times
 
SF6 declining in popularity can also be attributed to this. How are the player numbers compared to last year?

Time for SF7?

Capcom doesn't have another fighter where in the past they'd juggle SF and a versus title.

Marvel Tokkon looks like it could bring up a lot of people if it is done well.

Really though for me as a potential viewer, idgaf. I may catch a grand finals YT set of something but until virtua fighter 6 comes out I am sleep on all things FGC. Invincible Vs is a lot of fun but did not find a playerbase in the long term. That's what sucks about this whole fucking genre - if you aren't tekken MK or SF, then you're a discord fighter at best.
 
BennyBlanco said:
This was so sick
Click to expand...
I am just happy spammin' Talim got the boot stick.

Arsic said:
Invincible Vs is a lot of fun but did not find a playerbase in the long term. That's what sucks about this whole fucking genre - if you aren't tekken MK or SF, then you're a discord fighter at best.
Click to expand...
They are dropping a giga update at the end of the month for Invincible VS. That is when I am going to get back to it. Things feel too early access to stick with at the moment.
 
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BennyBlanco said:
Esports World Cup is the most serious event because the most money is up for grabs by far. Combo Breaker is definitely the premier American event now tho.



This was so sick
Click to expand...


EVO just feels so different now. No longer a grass roots event, and more of a convention. NeverYouMind NeverYouMind is right that Combo Breaker is the new hard-core FGC event. That and CEO. I'm sure a lot of people would rather go to those then EVO at this point. EVO has priced out so many of the FGC. Registration went from $40 to $300. They deserve to be humbled.

The next EVO I go to will most likely be France or Morocco, it will be cheaper and I can treat it as a vacation as well.
 
Arsic said:
SF6 declining in popularity can also be attributed to this. How are the player numbers compared to last year?

Time for SF7?

Capcom doesn't have another fighter where in the past they'd juggle SF and a versus title.

Marvel Tokkon looks like it could bring up a lot of people if it is done well.

Really though for me as a potential viewer, idgaf. I may catch a grand finals YT set of something but until virtua fighter 6 comes out I am sleep on all things FGC. Invincible Vs is a lot of fun but did not find a playerbase in the long term. That's what sucks about this whole fucking genre - if you aren't tekken MK or SF, then you're a discord fighter at best.
Click to expand...
SF6 is growing. Tifa comes out next year and they have stated they want a 10 year life span for it.
 
Richard Packer said:
SF6 is growing. Tifa comes out next year and they have stated they want a 10 year life span for it.
Click to expand...
Depressing for me.

I love SF but 6 is my least played by a large margin. Even 5 I spent more time with. 4 I had thousands of hours.

I wonder if Capcom would ever consider a remake of SF4 on modern platforms….
 
Arsic said:
Depressing for me.

I love SF but 6 is my least played by a large margin. Even 5 I spent more time with. 4 I had thousands of hours.

I wonder if Capcom would ever consider a remake of SF4 on modern platforms….
Click to expand...
If they could bring some semblance of balance to Omega versions of characters I would be down.
 
I think elevated travel costs and the spread of EVO events are most to blame for the drop. Getting to the US is troublesome vs a direct flight to Japan or walking to the upcoming SG EVO.

Tekken being a dumpster fire can't help. Who wants the trouble of flying to Vegas just to play Tekken now? I'm happy to see RoA2 maintaining it's numbers. It's somehow become my most played fighting game these days. So easy to hop in and out with friends.
 
Arsic said:
Depressing for me.

I love SF but 6 is my least played by a large margin. Even 5 I spent more time with. 4 I had thousands of hours.

I wonder if Capcom would ever consider a remake of SF4 on modern platforms….
Click to expand...
I'm not a fan of SF6 either. Rumors are Capcom is making CVS3 so that's something to look forward too.

SF4 will definitely have a re-release with rollback at some point. Hopefully soon.
 
Hero of Spielberg said:
Isn't Las Vegas really expensive now?
Click to expand...
lockdown2222 said:
Cost of living has also gone up, might be tough for some of these people to get there, too.
Click to expand...
I mean, I planned on going at one point, and at the time flying and hotel wasn't TOO bad. But it was definitely more across the board than it used to be. Things have gotten way out of hand for too many.

Nocty said:
understatement of the year right here tbh

my friend group, mostly mid 30's early 40's married couples, getting time to do stuff now is easier but them having money to do anything other than visit each others houses is getting blood from a stone. Like just about everyone I know is fucking broke as a joke. Last month I had to lend my best bud money to buy his kids food as he was short payday by 48 hours... it's rough out there. He has a decent paying job too, more so than me. Scary times
Click to expand...
It's insane, truly.

I'm currently in-between jobs and it's been a nightmare. I'm big into music and I've been frequenting live shows/concerts for about 25 years, and it's gotten crazy. Fees would of course fluctuate based on the venue. Some dingy bars that would be cheap ($7-$10), others big mainstream venues that would be more expensive ($20-$30). Then merch pricing would fluctuate as a result of the venue because of merch cuts, etc. I feel so bad for kids these days, especially ones working part time jobs that don't pay enough for them to really enjoy or do anything. Dingy bar shows have roughly stayed about the same, especially local ones. But big mainstream venue shows start at $50-$60+ now, it's insane. Then a tshirt is like $35-$40, and a hoodie is typically $60.

These kids can't afford that.
 
lockdown2222 said:
Cost of living has also gone up, might be tough for some of these people to get there, too.
Click to expand...
This 100%. Long story short it is far too expensive to fly to Vegas as a newcomer for an FGC tourney… for a chance to win.

It's going to happen at regular conventions too.

It's sad because EVO has been attempting to expand so that the exact opposite can happen (due to best-in-the-world hidden talents being found at places where they can't afford these trips), however it's all just bad timing.
 
cormack12 said:
There are also more Evo-branded tournaments happening around the world than before. Evo Japan happened in May, and Evo France is slated for October.
Click to expand...
There is your answer. Evo is still the biggest FGC event but it's just in more places now so people go to the most convenient one for them and not all of them. Not surprised that the Las Vegas one saw a massive dip either.
 
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The economy sucks and Las Vegas is really expensive.

There are also no other relevant fighting games out there these days. SF6 based on Steam CCU at least is growing in popularity and more people are playing it now than a year ago, so I don't think the game is the reason why.
 
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Richard Packer said:
EVO just feels so different now. No longer a grass roots event, and more of a convention. NeverYouMind NeverYouMind is right that Combo Breaker is the new hard-core FGC event. That and CEO. I'm sure a lot of people would rather go to those then EVO at this point. EVO has priced out so many of the FGC. Registration went from $40 to $300. They deserve to be humbled.

The next EVO I go to will most likely be France or Morocco, it will be cheaper and I can treat it as a vacation as well.
Click to expand...
40 to 300? Fucking nuts lol. You know what's crazier? Last time I went to Vegas pre COVID 300 got me and my ex a flight and 4 day weekend stay on Fairmont at the golden nugget. Good luck with that shit now and sure, with my salary I'm the audience they want but I'm not buying.
 
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Vegas has gotten *mega* expensive in the past few years. It's always had pricy *options*, but it seems like now it's much more difficult to do Vegas on a budget.
 
Richard Packer said:
EVO just feels so different now. No longer a grass roots event, and more of a convention. NeverYouMind NeverYouMind is right that Combo Breaker is the new hard-core FGC event. That and CEO. I'm sure a lot of people would rather go to those then EVO at this point. EVO has priced out so many of the FGC. Registration went from $40 to $300. They deserve to be humbled.

The next EVO I go to will most likely be France or Morocco, it will be cheaper and I can treat it as a vacation as well.
Click to expand...
Mystery solved.
 
Nocty said:
understatement of the year right here tbh

my friend group, mostly mid 30's early 40's married couples, getting time to do stuff now is easier but them having money to do anything other than visit each others houses is getting blood from a stone. Like just about everyone I know is fucking broke as a joke. Last month I had to lend my best bud money to buy his kids food as he was short payday by 48 hours... it's rough out there. He has a decent paying job too, more so than me. Scary times
Click to expand...
Clearly It's not a decent paying job if the guy can't feed his own family.

What you mean is prolly "It's decent paying for a teen still living with parents" OR "A single male with not family or pets to feed, No car or insurance payments" maybe?
 
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I think it's the date.

Normal people are typically more busy with work in June than in August. Don't forget that all those entrants aren't professional, but just regular people on vacation.

Edit: oh, and the price of admission too, a 700%+ increase is bonkers
 
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CuteFaceJay said:
Clearly It's not a decent paying job if the guy can't feed his own family.

What you mean is prolly "It's decent paying for a teen still living with parents" OR "A single male with not family or pets to feed, No car or insurance payments" maybe?
Click to expand...

Not really? Mortgage rates just went up hard over the last 2 year here in the UK and it blindsided both myself and many people I know. My monthly went from ÂŁ700 to ÂŁ1.8k in the last year from mortgage rate changes alone. And energy bills are going up rapidly. Cost of living in London and other areas rising rapidly.... I was on a fixed rate but that expired so had to re-enter at the current market rate. I have fixed again for 2 years with the hope it will come down in the shorter term, maybe we will get to lock in a smaller rate for longer later.

The cost of living is going up fast while the average income has stagnated for years. Many people feeling the pinch with no fault of their own. I dont have any car payments or anything like that and they dont either as far as I can tell.
 
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cormack12 said:
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20260617211051/https://www.polygon.com/evo-2026-fewer-competitors/

Evo is historically the largest fighting game tournament in the world and it takes place each year in Las Vegas. Capcom, Bandai Namco, and other fighting game developers also use the show to make announcements or debut new characters for their games. As such, a dip in popularity like this is a bit concerning.

When the registration numbers were shared on June 12, Street Fighter 6 had the most participants with 2,414. That's significantly less than the 4,228 people who competed in the same game at Evo 2025. Tekken 8, Guilty Gear Strive, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves all saw similar declines. Rivals of Aether 2 was unaffected, having more entrants than last year.

This caused speculation over why the numbers dropped, and there are several potential reasons why this happened. Evo 2026 is taking place earlier than usual this year, in June rather than August. There are also more Evo-branded tournaments happening around the world than before. Evo Japan happened in May, and Evo France is slated for October.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that the following is also going on....

  • Cost of living has gone up, so not many people are feeling up to travelling.
  • There are MULTIPLE Evo events now. Not just EVO in Las Vegas either. So, players are more than likely to wait for an event that geographically close to them. EVO Japan had insane numbers for it though.
  • Less international players are willing to come to the US at this point due to who's in office.
  • Since EVO got bought out by Sony, the price of registration has dramatically gone up. When I went back in 2015 it was maybe $100 for registration. Now is a lot more than that.
  • Other Fighting Game majors are doing what Evo is doing, but better and cheaper. See Combo Breaker and CEO for an example.
 
I use to look forward to watching SF grand finales, but the game is kinda stupid to watch. Its like FADC on crack. I haven't watched Evo for the last couple years. Just kept up with whoever won. Perhaps it's too predictable for a lot of players and there's not a huge benefit from paying travel plus entry cost. Not to mention how time + responsibilities matter more over the years. It's like the Halo tournaments that use to happen a lot more often, life changes and the same peeps aren't around.

I love how everyone can enjoy fighting games, the young and old. I hate having to hear about how old people are all the time. It made this last year's Evo real weird.
 
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There is also the problem that Vegas has become a lot more expensive, even for the most simple stuff.
So the cost of visiting the city, even without gambling, has increased dramatically.
 
winjer said:
There is also the problem that Vegas has become a lot more expensive, even for the most simple stuff.
So the cost of visiting the city, even without gambling, has increased dramatically.
Click to expand...
Vegas is a city in which you're paying for a premium for EVERYTHING. At this point, not worth it for now.
 
Truth be told it'd be healthier for the genre entirely if local tournaments made a comeback because local tournament are the reason regional and global tournaments even exist now.

It'd be cool if there was a company that made a hot swappable arcade machine with a mechanism for coin operation and plugging in controllers with easily selectable controller profiles

Of course then Capcom and other devs would have to support a feature like that. Maybe they do and I don't know about it.

Then people could have tournaments and competition anywhere instead of expensive places like Las Vegas.

Local competition and a well run location reduces toxicity over the long term too. You're gonna get checked real quick if you're an ass in public. At least that's how my local arcade handled piss poor attitudes back in the day.
 
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Arsic said:
SF6 declining in popularity can also be attributed to this. How are the player numbers compared to last year?

Time for SF7?
Click to expand...
SF6 popularity isn't declining, it recently had the highest Steam CCU peak ever.

Partly to SF6 being more successful than usual, they also recently mentioned that they have a 10 years long SF6 plan instead of releasing each new mainline entry every 7 years, which is what they did in the distances between 4, 5 and 6.

 
Hadoukens said:
Truth be told it'd be healthier for the genre entirely if local tournaments made a comeback because local tournament are the reason regional and global tournaments even exist now.

It'd be cool if there was a company that made a hot swappable arcade machine with a mechanism for coin operation and plugging in controllers with easily selectable controller profiles

Of course then Capcom and other devs would have to support a feature like that. Maybe they do and I don't know about it.

Then people could have tournaments and competition anywhere instead of expensive places like Las Vegas.

Local competition and a well run location reduces toxicity over the long term too. You're gonna get checked real quick if you're an ass in public. At least that's how my local arcade handled piss poor attitudes back in the day.
Click to expand...
Before any of this the games need to be good and relevant. Tekken sucks, Fatal Fury flopped, Mortal Kombat flopped, 2XKO was a total failure, etc. Tokon might be good, I hope it is, but I have doubts.

This is the core problem. It's hard to drum up interest for a fighting game tournament when nobody cares about most of the fighting games.
 
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diffusionx said:
Before any of this the games need to be good and relevant. Tekken sucks, Fatal Fury flopped, Mortal Kombat flopped, 2XKO was a total failure, etc. Tokon might be good, I hope it is, but I have doubts.

This is the core problem. It's hard to drum up interest for a fighting game tournament when nobody cares about most of the fighting games.
Click to expand...
I happen to live somewhat near one of the oldest, still running arcades in the country. Their old fighting games still make regular good money. They wouldn't be there if they didn't.

Marvel vs Capcom 2, Tekken 7 (2 cabinets), and one of the Street Fighter Alpha games.

The owner would happily move to newer entries if the games and cabinets supported it.
 
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Not really surprising, the younger generations haven't really gotten into fighting games like people who grew up in the 80's and 90's, so the community around them hasn't really grown much in the last 10-15 years and a lot of the older people in the FGC are getting old enough to not want to bother with tournaments anymore. It's a shame to see but not surprising when you consider how much less fighting games that aren't Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat tend to sell now a days.
 
Hadoukens said:
I happen to live somewhat near one of the oldest, still running arcades in the country. Their old fighting games still make regular good money. They wouldn't be there if they didn't.

Marvel vs Capcom 2, Tekken 7 (2 cabinets), and one of the Street Fighter Alpha games.

The owner would happily move to newer entries if the games and cabinets supported it.
Click to expand...
You could put Mortal Kombat 1 in an arcade machine, no one would play it because the game sucks balls and everyone hates it.

The problem is the quality of most fighters right now. The games just aren't good.
 
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