Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is out next week with new graphics and features

Sega has officially announced Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, the eSports project it first started teasing last year.

Ultimate Showdown is a PlayStation 4 exclusive set to release next week, on Tuesday, June 1. According to one report, it will be free for PlayStation Plus subscribers during the month.

The first details on the game arrive via an exclusive announcement on IGN, which states that Ultimate Showdown will include updated graphics, new online features, with development being led by an “all-star team” from Sega AM2 and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.

Fundamental gameplay and combat will remain the same as in the main version of Virtua Fighter 5 released in 2006, but graphics are being rebuilt using RGG’s Dragon Engine technology.

In addition, the game will include new background music for every stage, a new user interface, a new opening cinematic, and new lighting and shaders.

In online modes, players will be able to spectate matches in real-time, and will also include the ability to build online tournaments. The private and public lobby system will support up to 16 players, and will include new communications tools like stamps.

Sega’s fighting series hasn’t seen a mainline instalment since 2010’s Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, which was eventually released for Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2012, and later made available via a mini-game in 2016’s Yakuza 6: The Song of Life for PS4.

The ‘Virtua Fighter X eSports’ project was revealed via a teaser trailer aired during Sega’s Tokyo Game Show live stream last September. At the time, the company did not reveal further details on what the project was.