Here’s Johnny: Guilty Gear Strive add favorite, make massive combat upgrades for Season 3

Guilty Gear isn’t gambling on Strive’s next season of content, confirming the game is getting a huge overhaul to its battle system and plenty of new content over the next year at Evo 2023—including the dangerous fan-favorite Johnny making his return on Aug. 24.

Johnny was one of the most requested characters for the game that wasn’t added in previous seasons of Guilty Gear DLC, and now the debonair pirate is headling Season Three. His gameplay retains the stylish swordsmanship players remember from earlier games while adapting it to Strive’s systems.

Speaking of systems, Arc System Works is bringing Strive into a new era with three major changes to the game’s battle system. New special moves are being added for every character and two new systems are being added.

The Wild Assault is an offensive mechanic that implements a rush-down approach option while the Deflect Shield is a balancing defensive option that lets players push enemies back after blocking them to create additional space. Both moves are “high risk, high reward” approaches to playing because they consume 50 percent of your Burst Gauge.

Related: Evo 2023 wrapped: All top 8 results and major announcements

Johnny and these new, gamble-heavy mechanics will be live in the game on Aug. 24 alongside the launch of Season Three.

Players who want to use Johnny will need to purchase the Season Pass Three for $24.99 or individually for $6.99 when he hits the stage. Three other DLC characters, more stages, and a color pack is on the way as part of that season pass too.

There is also another way players can enjoy Strive as part of ArcSys’ celebration of Guilty Gear’s 25th Anniversary and game hitting over 2.5 million players; the new Daredevil Edition.

“While welcoming its 25th anniversary, Guilty Gear has always been something that has been sustained by the love and support of the community,” Strive director Akira Katano said. “Before Strive, the game was mostly supported by the Japanese community, however, in recent years, we were able to see overseas players loving and supporting the game, which is very motivating for us. With Season Three, we are striving to develop the game further with that continued love and support from players all around.”

This Daredevil Edition will feature the base Guilty Gear Strive game, all three seasons of DLC content, including Season Three, along with special anniversary bonuses like more alternate colors for characters and digital artworks.

Season Three is just the start too, with the Guilty Gear dev team aim to keep the momentum up to support the community and “grow this passionate environment.”