Sony’s baffling decision to region lock Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has united the FGC, as its potential as an esport now hangs in the balance

Sony is on a generational speed run of bad PR in recent days after announcing its intent to completely discontinue disc production for its consoles. However, I believe that the biggest issue they have right now involves Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and its region lock in over 130 countries, according to SteamDB.

It’s such a huge issue that it has united the fighting game community (FGC), a community known for infighting and debates over what the best fighting game really is. So, what exactly is happening here?

In my opinion, it’s most likely that developers Arc System Works have nothing to do with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls’ region lock. The developers have been around the FGC since the late 90’s and have produced amazing fighting games such as Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. The last one is particularly important, as it falls into the same category as Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, a developer using an existing IP to make a fighting game out of it.

So, what exactly is the “Helldivers 2 lesson?” This refers to the time when Sony was forced to remove all region locks on their PC games after player backlash. It started when Sony announced in 2024 that the game would require players to have a PlayStation Account to log in.

Hearing this, Helldivers 2 players began review-bombing the game, forcing the company to eventually lift the restrictions not just for Helldivers 2 but also for other Sony studio games available on PC a little over a year later. It’s also worth noting that during the controversy, Arrowhead Studios, the developers of Helldivers 2, apologized even though the decision to region-lock the game is entirely Sony’s decision.

Now, Sony is attempting another Helldivers 2 situation with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. As the former owners of Evo, I can’t fathom what’s going on in their heads when they set up the game to be like this. The company should know that fighting games are a universal language. Even if players don’t speak the same spoken language, everyone understands the frustration of jumping in and getting hit by Guile’s flash kick five times in a row.

With that said, the FGC is fighting back, but I have my own concerns.

The Helldivers 2 situation worked out because of the sheer number of people who fought back against the corporation. Funnily enough, Helldivers 2 is all about spreading democracy, and a company region-locking a game is not democratic at all. But I digress; the problem I’m talking about is numbers.

Let’s face it: it’s true that fighting game player numbers can’t compare to first- or third-person shooter numbers. Helldivers 2, at its most popular, had almost half a million players on Steam alone. Street Fighter 6, the most popular fighting game at this time, only had around 76,000 players at its most popular phase, according to SteamDB. That’s only a fraction of the people Helldivers 2 had.

Now, my concern is: Does the FGC have enough voice or power to convince a huge corporation like Sony? Sure, top players such as Justin Wong and Michael “Yipes” Mendoza are speaking out about the problem, but is it enough? The main strength of the FGC is that the game is specifically created for the community. That same community also doesn’t have the same player pool as other genres. 

Some fans, after finding out that the game would be region-locked, have been second-guessing whether to buy it. With player counts already being a problem in the FGC, players have been cautious about investing in another fighting game that might eventually die after a few months at worst or a year at best. While this doesn’t sound like a good thing, this is actually the FGC’s biggest weapon against Sony.

As I’ve mentioned, the FGC already has a limited pool of players, and companies want to maximize their profits. If that’s Sony’s intent, then there’s no reason for them to region-lock the game. Now, people are talking about boycotting the launch and letting their wallets speak, but there’s also a petition launched to show Sony that the game should be available for all players who want to play it.

As of writing, the petition is about to reach 2,000 signatures.

If Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls releases with region lock still in place, this might be the first modern-day fighting game that will release in that way.

Back then, when arcade cabinets were the console of choice for fighting games, Japan usually had the advantage in tournaments because the cabinets were released there first. The United States would get them a few months later, and in the worst case, this could take years. This practice was also prevalent in home console releases, with games such as Tekken 4 releasing first in Japan on PlayStation 2. The NA and EU versions followed six months later.

In recent years, fighting game developers have adopted simultaneous worldwide releases to ensure that every competitor and player starts on a level playing field. However, Sony might have other ideas this time. Personally, I really don’t understand why the company is so insistent on requiring a PlayStation account for all their games, when the service isn’t even available in all countries.

In the case that Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls launches as is, fighting game communities of those locked out from the game’s release would fall behind in competition compared to those who have been playing it since launch. There was already outrage in tournaments when 2XKO’s competitive integrity was challenged because a certain tournament allowed beta testers to participate in tournaments, as they were allowed to play champions that weren’t released to the public yet.

And that was only a couple of hours, maybe days, of playtesting.

Ultimately, I really have no idea what the outcome of this whole situation will be. The petition is getting considerable attention, and the top players are voicing their disappointment in Sony’s decision.

Marvel has always been close to the FGC’s heart. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is a beloved game in the community and is widely considered one of the best fighting games ever made. Robbing the new generation of a new Marvel game will be heartbreaking.

In my opinion, there’s a good chance Sony will announce that the game will be available in all regions. As I’ve mentioned, the company surely wants to maximize its profits, and releasing it in all regions is the best way to do it. Not only does it increase their revenue, but the support of big names in the FGC makes the issue impossible to ignore. To add more hope, even if the game isn’t available in a specific region, its Steam page is still accessible.

With that said, I’m hopeful that we will all be able to play the game on day one.