Virtua Fighter Crossroads producer Riichiro Yamada has revealed that HBO's adaptation of Watchmen served as a significant inspiration for the upcoming fighting game. Yamada explained that the series' success in bringing a decades-old comic property back into the mainstream resonated with his vision for reviving the long-dormant Virtua Fighter series.
Speaking with GamerBraves, Yamada stated that his primary inspiration was not necessarily the narrative of Watchmen, but its approach to modernizing an established, albeit older, intellectual property. "Watchmen was a very old American comics story which was revived as a drama 40 years-plus after," he noted. "For me, I thought it was very similar to the situation with Virtua Fighter, and it told me a lot about how to modernize the old settings, the old story, and then revive it."
The Virtua Fighter series, with its extensive lore and established settings, has been largely absent for over 20 years. Yamada saw a parallel between this period of dormancy and the resurgence of Watchmen, viewing it as a blueprint for reintroducing Virtua Fighter to a modern audience.
Virtua Fighter Crossroads aims to distinguish itself from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's typical output with a strong emphasis on narrative. The development team intends to expand upon the existing lore of Virtua Fighter, offering players a more immersive story experience. Yamada emphasized a desire to move beyond traditional cutscenes for storytelling, aiming for greater player engagement.
"A lot of people won’t be just satisfied with nice cuts in the game, and pretty scenes or pretty cinematics," Yamada said. "It’s way better if you can play through it and understand the story by yourself." This suggests that narrative progression will be deeply integrated into gameplay mechanics.
The game is set to take place approximately 10 to 20 years after the events of Virtua Fighter 5. A central theme will be the comeback of the series' iconic characters, who have become