Gab Hernandez 
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is coming, and its release date and the game’s base character roster have been confirmed.
The latest release in the Fatal Fury franchise, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, came out in 1999 and the development of a sequel has been stop-start. SNK has undergone numerous strategic and ownership changes, which has seen the series mostly shelved. In 2005, an illustrator for the unnamed Fatal Fury sequel claimed the project was more than 70% complete. Unfortunately for fans, it wouldn’t be until 2016 when significant news about the potential sequel dropped, but at that point, the game was as good as canceled for fans.
Things turned to radio silence once more until finally, during EVO 2023, SNK announced a revival of the long-dormant franchise after a 26-year hiatus. Now fans are finally starting to get a proper look at Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves’ characters and gameplay, and also got a side helping of release date info.
Who are the new and returning characters for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves?
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves includes a mix of Fatal Fury staples, popular Garou: Mark of the Wolves fighters, and new additions. Familiar faces like Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui are included, as well as Garou characters Hotaru Futaba and Marco Rodrigues. Additionally, new fighters including Muay Thai practitioner Preecha and Grant’s apprentice Vox Reaper will join the fray.
The first trailer for the game showcased gameplay for the first time. The fast-paced nature of the old-school Garou games remains, alongside tons of flashy effects. Unfortunately for many, the game will pivot from Garou’s striking 2D visuals to a stylized 3D look. Fans still praised the game’s 3D animation as a vast improvement from SNK’s previous outings, particularly The King of Fighters 15.
The returning characters retain many of their iconic moves alongside some exciting new mechanics. Meanwhile, the newcomers are set to fill some of the gaps left by characters that didn’t return.
Here are the confirmed characters on the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves roster so far:
- Rock Howard
- Terry Bogard
- Hotaru Futaba
- Griffon Mask/Tizoc
- Preecha
- Marco Rodrigues
- B. Jenet
- Vox Reaper
- Kevin Rian
- Billy Kane
- Mai Shiranui
Release date details for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will launch on April 4, 2025.
The first gameplay and character reveal trailer confirmed that Fatal Fury will return to modern consoles next year. Street Fighter 6, Mortal Kombat 1, and Tekken 8 brought renewed interest in the fighting game genre, combining familiar brands and characters with long-absent accessibility features for new players. With Sega reportedly working on Virtua Fighter 6, there is no better time for a revival of Fatal Fury than now.
The new art direction and return to consoles paint a pretty picture of Fatal Fury’s future.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will also be the first SNK game to feature an English dub since The King of Fighters 12. With all those features in mind, SNK clearly wants to get the revival of Fatal Fury just right.
Will Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves have DLC?
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves’s first season will feature five DLC characters.
As of now, the DLC characters have not been revealed. As a welcome surprise for fans, Mai Shiranui will not be part of the DLC, but instead a base roster character. Given the character’s popularity, it would have been an easy DLC pick for SNK, but nobody will complain about a free Mai.
Notably, Street Fighter 6 features two Fatal Fury characters. The partnership between SNK and Capcom could mean Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves gets a Street Fighter character. Regardless, fans will have to wait a few more months before experiencing the Garou revival.
As for who might be included, there’s no shortage of options. Classic Fatal Fury characters Kim Kaphwan and Joe Higashi are notable absentees and there are other Garou characters that could return. Major characters from other SNK series like Kyo Kusanagi, Ryo Sakazaki, and Athena could all potentially get added. Fans will ultimately have to wait and see.
