PS5 Closed Beta Announced for Tōkon
One of the surprise announcements from Sony’s State of Play in June was the reveal of MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls. Produced by Arc System Works and Marvel Games, Tōkon immediately ignited interest with its stylized visuals and 4V4 tag team format. While the game won’t release until 2026, a September closed beta will give fighting game and comic book fans an early chance to duke it out in the Marvel universe.
What Can Players Expect?
To register for the PS5 closed beta, interested players must fill out the registration form on the Playstation website. If players recieve an invitation via email, they will be able to play the game on September 5th through the 7th. The beta will focus on online lobby matches (featuring rollback netcode), with limited offline matches available. There is also a spectator mode and, of course, a tutorial to help players get adjust to Tōkon’s gameplay.
New York will be the only stage available during the beta, though stage transitions will take players through Hell’s Kitchen, City Centre, and Avenger’s Park. As for characters, the six showing up for the beta are Captain America, Doctor Doom, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, Star-Lord, and Storm. Sorry Spidey fans.
More Marvel Games on the Horizon
Since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began to dominate the cinema, the comic book brand has been putting more focus on their video game projects, to mixed success. While games like Marvel’s Avengers drew poor reviews, others like Insomniac Game’s Spider-Man series have been hugely popular. And last year’s Marvel Rivals emerged as a mega-hit, becoming a worthy competitor to other hero shooters on the market. 2026 promises the release of even more Marvel games besides Tōkon. Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra will see Captain America fighting the eponymous villains in occupied Paris, and Marvel’s Wolverine will see Insomniac’s take on the iconic Canadian.
A Revival for Marvel Fighting Games?
It’s been a hot minute since there was a fighting game starring the legendary heroes and villains of Marvel Comics. While the Marvel vs. Capcom series has historically had many fans, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite effectively killed the franchise. Nearly eight years since then, will Tōkon be the revival fans are looking for? We’ll find out next year with the full release.
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