For a franchise that was knocking on death’s door a mere decade ago, fighting games have certainly come a long way in the last couple of years. 2018 may go down in history as one of the finest year’s for the genre, as the pickings may have been slim but the games on offer were benchmarks in two-fisted action. Here’s a look at the best that the genre had to offer, as well as 2018’s overall king of the ring.

It’s approaching time for the biggest fighting game even on earth. Every Year, EVO pits the very best of the best in the fighting game scene against each other in their respective disciplines. As is usual, eight premier fighting games from the past and present will be represented. What’s moderately surprising is which ones made the cut and which ones didn’t.

With next year’s release of Street Fighter V Arcade Edition, the game finally seems like the series entry it was meant to be. Not only is it getting a branching Arcade mode that spans the Street Fighter canon, complete with 200 different endings, but it’s also getting a healthy dose of new characters in Season 3 – who have been revealed by the Arcade Edition’s new opening cinematic.