Guilty Gear Strive is over two years old now, but hefty updates and new DLC characters are keeping the game feeling fresh.
While Guilty Gear was long a niche fighting game title, the relative lack of fan enthusiasm surrounding Street Fighter V opened the door for a new game to fill that gap. Guilty Gear Strive obliged and became the most-played fighting game both casually and competitively, out-pacing Street Fighter V in player count tallies throughout 2021 and 2022. This led to the game getting main event billing at Evo 2022, wresting away a spot traditionally reserved for Capcom fighting games.
While Street Fighter 6 is set to be the biggest game at Evo 2023, Guilty Gear Strive is still going strong. Here are the key details surrounding the game and what the future holds.
All Guilty Gear Strive characters
Guilty Gear Strive launched with a roster of 15 characters and added nine more through DLC in seasons one and two. Things won’t end there though, with another season of DLC in the works. The base roster of Guilty Gear Strive includes the following characters:
| Guilty Gear Strive base character roster | ||
| Sol Badguy | Faust | Ramlethal Valentine |
| Ky Kiske | Potemkin | Anji Mito |
| I-No | Zato-1 | Chipp Zanuff |
| Nagoriyuki | Giovanna | May |
| Axl Low | Leo Whitefang | Millia Rage |
Guilty Gear Strive DLC Season Pass 1
- Goldlewis Dickinson
- Jack-O’
- Happy Chaos
- Baiken
- Testament
The first season of DLC added five characters with familiar faces from previous Guilty Gear games alongside key characters from Strive’s story mode.
Guilty Gear Xrd’s Jack-O’ returned and became a viral sensation due to her ridiculous crouching stance, with fellow returnees Baiken and Testament also making a splash. Happy Chaos was a key addition both as a unique character and a key figure in the game’s lore. Meanwhile, Goldlewis Dickinson had a large presence in the game’s story despite being comic relief.
Guilty Gear Strive DLC Season Pass 2
- Bridget
- Sin Kiske
- Bedman?
- Asuka R#
While the first season added five characters, just four were added in season two. Bridget returned to a huge splash, having been the most sought-after returnee among fans. Also making a comeback was Guilty Gear 2: Overture’s Sin Kiske, the son of Ky and Dizzy. Bedman from Guilty Gear Xrd returned as Bedman?, albeit with Bedman’s sister in his place. Rounding out the season was Asuka R#, who Guilty Gear fans will more likely recognize as the enigmatic villain referred to as “That Man.”
Is there going to be a Guilty Gear Strive DLC Season 3?
The team behind Guilty Gear Strive confirmed that the game will receive a Season 3 of DLC. This was confirmed at the Arc World Tour 2022 on March 11, 2023.
Basically no details are known when it comes to the Guilty Gear Strive DLC Season Pass 3 beyond its existence. Fans can safely assume that it will contain four or five fighters, but there’s no way to guess who else could be added to the game. There are plenty of notable characters from previous games who are not yet in Strive including Slayer and Johnny, and other possible new additions.
