Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. 2 announced for arcades

It’s Gundam, but extreme

Bandai Namco announced today that a sequel for the hit arcade game Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. was in development. While no further details were given, it’s currently aiming to launch in Japanese arcade centers in 2018, with a location test this summer.

You can check out the teaser trailer below.

For those unfamiliar with the spinoff series and this particular entry due to it being Japan-only for the most part, here’s a brief recap. The original Extreme Vs. released in Japanese arcades in Fall 2010, and was ported to the PlayStation 3 in Winter 2011. A ‘super’ version, called Full Boost, arrived in arcades in 2012, and from that point on, would receive new suits monthly via updates. A PlayStation 3 version was released in January 2014, and would receive the update suits as DLC. Another refresh called Maxi Boost arrived in arcades that March, and some of the new suits would make their way to the console version of Full Boost via DLC. In March 2016, the now-final refresh, known as Maxi Boost On, arrived in arcades with more characters. A spinoff on the Vita with a smaller roster and tweaks to the gameplay, known as Extreme Vs. Force, received a worldwide release later that year

When it was announced that a new Vs. title was coming to consoles, many were hoping it would be a port of Maxi Boost On instead of a new one, which happened in the form of Versus. This is because the long life cycle of Extreme Vs. has resulted in a large cast of 182 characters that is still growing, and the idea of seeing that shrink in any way obviously disappoints folks.

It’s unclear what this announcement means for Gundam Versus. Some interpret its existence as an attempt to avoid hurting the success of the arcade entries, due to missing characters and different mechanics. Extreme Vs. 2 is unlikely to be ported to consoles if that is true, however new characters could still arrive in Versus as DLC, as seen by Phantom and Build Strike being shared between them upon being announced.