Announced during Sony's State of Play on June 4, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is generating a great deal of attention for its unique 4v4 tag-team format. It’s a Marvel fighting game revival that no one necessarily asked for, but they are certainly eager to try. This is especially true with veteran Japanese developer Arc System Works, known for the Guilty Gear series, behind the project, raising expectations even higher.
Beyond being a distinctive evolution in the fighting game genre, the upcoming title is also generating excitement for how it expands the Marvel IP. To illustrate, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is slated to release in 2026, which is also when the highly anticipated film Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to debut. With Doctor Doom expected to be a major player in Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it's interesting to see how Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is adapting the character while beating Marvel Rivals to the punch in the process.
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Doctor Doom Is The MCU's Next Big Bad, But His Spotlight in Games Could Be More Robust
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Introduces Doom as a Playable Character
Comparisons between Marvel Rivals and Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls seem all but inevitable, considering both titles are two sides of the same coin. After all, these two action-oriented titles mark a significant shift for Marvel Games, as the franchise ventures into more ambitious genres. Both are a bit of a wild card, but Marvel Rivals has undoubtedly found its footing in the hero-shooter genre, and there are high hopes that the 4v4 tag fighter can follow in its footsteps to find success in its own niche.
During its announcement, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls revealed an eight-character roster, including Victor von Doom. The complete list is as follows, though more characters are expected to be unveiled down the line:
- Captain America
- Spider-Man
- Storm
- Ghost Rider
- Ms. Marvel
- Doctor Doom
- Iron Man
- Star-Lord
Notably, with Doctor Doom's gameplay readily being shown off in Marvel's new fighting game during the PlayStation State of Play, it's clear Arc System Works is already outpacing Marvel Rivals in terms of bringing the big bad to life as a playable character. This may come as a bit of a shock to some, given that Doctor Doom plays a pivotal role in the Timestream Entanglement plot line of NetEase Games' superhero shooter. As the game's main antagonist, players have theorized that he will be added to the roster at some point, but Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls appears to be making the first move.
Doctor Doom is Still Missing From Marvel Rivals’ Datamined Roster
Marvel Rivals Season 2 recently added Emma Frost and Ultron, bringing the line-up to 39 playable characters. With new features like the experimental Auto Chess-like game mode, Ultron's Battle Matrix Protocol mode, and new cosmetics for characters like Jeff the Land Shark and Wolverine, the hero-shooter has a lot going for it right now. Unfortunately, Doctor Doom enthusiasts may be waiting quite some time to see the megalomaniac become a playable character.
Datamined information for Marvel Rivals, while not confirmed to be accurate, has not revealed any sign of Doctor Doom. Fan-favorite characters like Deadpool, Nightcrawler, and Gambit have made appearances, and the leaks have proven accurate for heroes such as Emma Frost and Ultron. With as many as 23 characters potentially in development for Marvel Rivals, it seems unlikely that Doctor Doom will be rolling out any time soon. Of course, it's entirely possible that Doctor Doom is one of the game's best-kept secrets and could release sooner than expected. Alternatively, his debut might be timed to coincide with Avengers: Doomsday in 2026 to build hype around the film’s theatrical release. Regardless, it is both surprising on Rivals' end and impressive on Tokon's part that Doom is playable in the latter first, as he has been and will seemingly continue to be the most important figure in the Rivals universe.
- Released
- 2026
- Developer(s)
- Arc System Works, Marvel Games, PlayStation Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Arc System Works, Marvel Games, PlayStation Studios
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
