Summary
On Jun 19, 2025,Soulcalibur 6launched nearly seven years after its predecessor. Comparatively,Soulcalibur 5came out only three-and-a-half years afterSoulcalibur 4, and fans were keen to move past both. Although there was some uncertainty aboutSoulcalibur 6’s new mechanics, reverting toSoulcalibur 1’s era and bringing stapleSoulcaliburfighters back lined everything up forSoulcalibur’s return to form.Soulcalibur 6overcame fans' fears, and developer Bandai Namco quickly proclaimed it to be a success.
The game sold over two million copies and even got a surprise second DLC season after featuring on EVO 2019’s main stage.Soulcalibur 6may not have been everyone’s favorite entry, withSoulcalibur 1and2reigning supremeandSoulcalibur 3’s single-player content standing unmatched, but it enhanced most ofSoulcalibur 5’s good points while leaving out its worst. The franchise has gone quiet since DLC season 2 concluded in late 2020, but onceTekken 8is out, a newSoulcaliburshould capitalize on the foundationSoulcalibur 6built.
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The Next Soulcalibur Will Be Built On Past Successes
Soulcalibur 7has a head start thanks to everythingSoulcalibur 6has accomplished. Basic movement via the 8-Way Run system feels on par withSoulcalibur’s arcade glory days, and other mechanics are already building on the best part ofSoulcalibur 5. Its core fighting gameplay is whySC5’s fans put up with it, as it otherwise lacks long-term single-player content and its newcomers and plot are mostly disliked.Soulcalibur 6improved all of that by setting up an alternate timeline to allow more returning faces, as well as potentially give old characters new roles likeCassandra taking the sword-and-shield spotlight from Sophitiaat the urging of her future self.
Soulcalibur 7should get a boosted budget likeTekken 8did thanks to the success ofSoulcalibur 6andTekken 7, leading to an equivalent visual upgrade on modern hardware. Nothing inSoulcalibur 6is ugly, but the limited number of stages and need for every character to fit in the Create-A-Soul system left it noticeably less impressive than the olderTekken 7. A modernSoulcaliburtitle would also benefit from releasing afterTekken 8’s research into 3D rollback netcode, not to mention the rising standards for quality-of-life and general features in AAA fighting games.
Soulcalibur 7 Can Take Full Advantage of SC6’s Character Creation
Speaking of quality features,Soulcalibur 6’s single-player still holds up thanks to its inclusion of a detailed main story that grew with DLC, a separate arcade mode, and, last but not least, Libra of Soul. This mode calls back to the RPG hybrids present in the arcade-to-consoleSoulcaliburports, some of which also featured a custom protagonist.Soulcalibur 7needs to have at least one such mode, as Libra of Soul was still rather barebones compared to past outings. Things likeSoulcalibur 3’s RTS mode Chronicles of the SwordorSoulcalibur 2’s dungeon crawler segments in Weapon Master would all helpSoulcalibur 7reinforce the franchise’s renowned casual appeal.
To support that,Soulcalibur 7also needs to keep expanding the Create-A-Soul system. Present sinceSoulcalibur 3, this is already a major selling point, and even something that other franchises have begun incorporating like withTekken’s character customization andStreet Fighter 6’s Avatars. While it’s unlikely fans will see a return to the days of CAS-exclusive bonus movesets like Devil Jin’s, there’s still room for limited moveset customization, andSC6’s thorough list of fantasy racesneeds to be Create-A-Soul’s standard going forward.Soulcalibur 6proved to be a model entry for the series even back in 2018, soSoulcalibur 7should use that as a springboard to shoot even higher.
Soulcalibur 6was released on July 08, 2025, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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