Guilty Gear Strive to receive gameplay changing update and ‘Starter Edition’

No, No, No, Don’t Stop Rockin!

As we approach the first anniversary of gorgeous fighter Guilty Gear Strive, (yes, already), developer Arc System Works has announced that it will be dropping a major update at the start of next month, bringing with it a full roster rebalance, gameplay and mechanic tweaks, and a further optimized control system.

While no further details were announced in relation to this update, it appears much more than your common-or-garden everyday batch of buffs and nerfs. It appears that the patch will actually reapproach the core elements of Guilty Gear Strive‘s combat, which is perhaps an effort to quell some of the complaints that have come around (mainly from the ultra-hardcore community) regarding Strive‘s heavy-hitting, streamlined gameplay — a design decision that, it should be noted, has made the franchise perhaps more popular in the mainstream than ever before.

We’ll just have to wait and see what ArcSys has in store before we can evaluate the changes.

Additionally, ArcSys announced that it will be releasing a Guilty Gear Strive Starter Edition 2022 on August 9, which will include the base game and all season one pass content. So far, this edition has only been confirmed for release in Japan, but I would not be surprised at all to see it hit the western PlayStation Store, in digital form at the very least.

Finally, the developer also announced that it will be launching a crossplay beta test this summer. The test will afford PlayStation and PC players the opportunity to duke it out between each other, expanding the playerbase and helping to secure Guilty Gear Strive‘s audience for its second year in the mix. All of the above will no doubt give the (already popular) fighter a shot in the arm as it progresses toward its 2023 season. Exciting news all round for GG fans… Well, apart from yer boy, who has only really just gotten used to GG Strive as it is right now. Hold me, Testament.

Guilty Gear Strive is available now on PlayStation and PC platforms.

Chris Moyse

Senior Editor – Chris has been playing video games since the 1980s. Former Saturday Night Slam Master. Graduated from Galaxy High with honors. Twitter: @ChrisxMoyse