Cygames used the Granblue Fantasy festival event to announce a big news item, a new fighting game called Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising. It will be a separate game from Granblue Fantasy Versus, which will receive its final update on January 24, 2023. Rising will launch sometime in 2023 on the PS4, PS5, and PC.
Check out the Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising teaser trailer below.
The reveal trailer shows off gameplay from Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising, starting with a fight between Katalina and Gran. Rising is not quite a “full sequel” to the original Granblue Fantasy Versus. Rising will include the current 24-character roster of the original Versus at launch. It will also be able to import Versus save data, meaning players who own the game won’t lose their progress switching over. Unlike the original Versus, though, Rising will have rollback netcode implemented by design, as well as support cross-platform play across PS4, PS5, and PC via Steam. According to comments by Creative Director Tetsuya Fukuhara, Cygames and Arc System Works’ goals improve Granblue Versus effectively meant that they had to practically rebuild the game. This is why Rising is being treated (and sold) as a separate product.
However, Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising will also have new content. These include more playable characters, as well as several new mechanics. One the announced mechanics is “Ultimate Skills”, which are upgraded versions of Plus Skills. The graphics of the game have also been improved, with the goal of the overhaul being to get closer to the signature Granblue Fantasy art style. The story-based “RPG Mode” will have a new narrative to follow, as well as an abridged version of the original Versus RPG mode, to allow players to catch up with the story. The improvements also include an updated lobby system. The new lobby will be larger and have more activities.
One activity in the Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising lobby is Grand Bruise Legends, a minigame-based mode that uses players and their lobby avatars. The gameplay of Grand Bruise Legends looks similar to a Granblue-themed version of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout.
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising is in development for release on PS4, PS5, and PC via Steam in 2023. The current Granblue Fantasy Versus game will receive its version 2.85 update on January 24, 2023. 2.85 will be its final update before the release of Rising.
