Making old new again: Evo 2023 is mixing eras with incredible fighting game lineup

In its second full year as a Sony-operated event, the Evolution Championship Series (Evo) 2023 is swinging for the fences by mixing new and old fighting game eras together. This means additional support for the tournaments, more community events, and the introduction of a new feature for the main stage.

Returning to Las Vegas and the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino from Aug. 4 to 6, Evo 2023 will feature an eight-game lineup for its main roster, including Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear Strive, and the surprise return of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3.

This will be the first Evo appearance for SF6, following its June 2 launch and the recent reveal that Capcom will support the Capcom Pro Tour 2023 with a prize pool of over $2 million. However, UMvC3 making its return to the Evo main stage was the highlight.

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This will be the first time a Marvel vs Capcom title will be featured as a main Evo title since Evo 2016, if you discount the player’s choice vote selection from Evo 2017. In addition, it will feature a minimum prize pool of $25,000—alongside every other game, as the Evo team announced during the lineup reveal broadcast on Feb. 21.

That’s right. Every single game on Evo 2023’s main lineup will feature a minimum prize pool of $25,000. That number will only increase as players flock to register too. Here is the full lineup for Evo 2023, all of which will be played on PS4:

• Street Fighter 6
• Guilty Gear Strive
• Dragon Ball FighterZ
• Tekken 7
• The King of Fighters 15
• Mortal Kombat 11
• Melty Blood: Type Lumina
• Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

“We are excited to once again feature an incredible lineup of fighting games at Evo 2023 and are thrilled to be including our first Evo Throwback tournament with Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3,” said Evo general manager, Rick “TheHadou” Thiher said. “This year we’re establishing $25,000 minimum prize pools for each tournament in our lineup, and continuing our efforts to improve the Evo event experience for players and fans.”

Outside the main lineup, the Evo team is expanding other aspects. This includes a special opportunity for players to check out Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising before release.

Staples like the artist alley and Evo Showcase panels, exhibitions, and more are all returning for another year. The Indie Fighting Game Gallery, Evo Arcade, and Arcade Stick Museum will also run it back—though all of them will be bigger than ever before. 

Evo will also continue to spotlight community-run events within the event venue, providing tournament organizers and communities with the necessary tools to put together brackets live for anyone attending Evo 2023. You can expect many of the games that didn’t make the cut for the main lineup like Skullgirls and DNF Duel to make an appearance here. Maybe Super Smash Bros. will even show up.

There is one major change to the Evo format that does have the FGC up in arms at the moment though as, during the broadcast, it was revealed the finals for each game will no longer be a top right, but will instead cut off at top six.

This change is supposed to help the production streamline broadcasts, but it does mean only matches from the winner’s semifinals and losers quarterfinals on will be shown on the big stage. 

You can register for every game and view more information about the event on the official Evo page over on start.gg.