The head of the Guilty Gear developer reflects on the pandemic while looking ahead to a major milestone.
This interview was conducted via email and edited for clarity.
What does this mean for the future of the game, and your plans to support it going forward?
That being said, Guilty Gear Strive is still developing.
Kidooka: I am delighted to be able to participate in Evo for the first time in three years.
But, of course, there are concerns about attending.
Fighting games are a genre that were originally nurtured by small offline communities in arcades.
Kidooka: Up to this point, we have been working with various partners to create fighting games.
This attitude will not change in the future.
The pandemic threw a sizable wrench into the Japanese game development scene.
Kidooka: The pandemic has dramatically changed lifestyles since early 2020.
Along with that, the style of game development had to change as well.
However, we gained a variety of insights over the course of the more-than-two years of the pandemic.
We believe that we will grow better by combining the best of Japanese game-making, with Western style.
ASW recently published Ground Divers!, an indie strategy title.
Kidooka: Arc System Works has developed and released various “indie-like titles” on our own.
We’ve also published titles developed by various partner companies.
Arc System Works is not a large company.
Kidooka: Arc System Works will celebrate its 35th anniversary next year in 2023.
What is your opinion on free-to-play in general?
Kidooka: Arc System Works is constantly considering new business and play models and discussing them internally.
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