Developer's Backyard Vol. 20 (Published September 29, 2026)
- Featured articles
Developer's Backyard Vol. 20 (Published September 30, 2026)
Hello everyone, this is Ken Miyauchi, Producer of Guilty Gear -Strive-.
It's been a while since our last Developer's Backyard.
In this volume, we'll look back at the content released in Version 2.0 and the first half of Season and dive into upcoming updates planned for the second half of Season 5 and beyond.
Guilty Gear -Strive- 5th Anniversary & Over 4 Million Players Worldwide!
In June of this year, GGST celebrated its 5th anniversary, and our global player base officially surpassed 4 million players!
To be entirely honest, back when the game first launched, I don’t know how clear we could've imagined a future five years down the road where so many people would still be playing every day, while we continue actively developing new characters and features.
Thanks to all of you who have supported us from the beginning, as well as those who recently jumped in or returned for sales and character releases, we were able to reach this incredible milestone. Once again, thank you so much!
While reaching our 5th anniversary is a massive milestone, the development team doesn't view this as the finish line.
In this volume, I'd like to share a few exciting initiatives we're currently working on for the future.
Burners on low, kicks on high
INDOMITABLE IRON FIST CHEF
Jam Kuradoberi (CV: Molly Zhang)
■Name: Jam Kuradoberi
■Height: 163cm(5'4"")
■Weight: Secret
■Blood Type: B
■Birth Date: February 8
■Origin: Chinese Federation
■Hobbies: Cooking, observing, research
■Values: Kitchens, youth, beautiful men, a restaurant that won't burn down
■Dislikes: Indecisive men, uneducated people, real-estate running at a loss
A chef who fights with her bare fists.
She is extremely stubborn and hates losing. She is easily irritated, especially by indecisiveness, but is fast to excuse her own faults. Pretty boys are the only exception.
This may make her sound like a narcissistic hypocrite, but in truth Jam is a realist with a sharp eye on her surroundings. Jam's almost inhuman fighting skill is the result of her grounded perspective, total faith in herself, and perseverance.
A few months have passed since her third restaurant burned down.
Jam takes her food stand on the road, searching for someone with Usagi, her only clue, at her side...
On April 9, Jam Kuradoberi joined the roster as the first DLC character of Season 5.
Jam excels at using her swift mobility and martial arts to get right in the opponent's face and unleash aggressive close-range offense.
While preserving the fast-paced movement and explosive offensive power inherited from previous titles, we reconstructed her mechanics in GGST so players can enjoy reading opponent habits and seizing crucial openings.
One of Jam's defining visual elements in this game is her rabbit companion, Usagi.
Usagi originated from an idea proposed by Lead Artist Hidehiko Sakamura during character design development. Although Usagi was not originally part of Jam's lore, one of our scenario writers—who happens to be a massive rabbit enthusiast—enthusiastically worked Usagi into the new scenario.
As a result, Usagi has become an endearing and essential presence in showing Jam, as she lives in the current era of GGST.
As for Usagi's true identity, be sure to play Jam's Arcade Mode and check out GG WORLD!
Perhaps you might see it active again somewhere in the future...?
To everyone who waited so long for her return, and to all the new players trying Jam for the first time: thank you so much for welcoming her back to the roster!
Power: ON, print("Hello, Ladies! ♥")
DUAL-WIELDING FULL-BODY ARSENAL
■Name: Robo-Ky (CV:Alejandro Saab)
■Height: 5'8"" (178cm) (by design)
■Weight: 580 tangerines
■Blood Type: R&B hydraulic oil
■Birth Date: June 10
■Origin: Post-War Administration Bureau Laboratory
■Hobbies: Searching for a wife, browsing junk shops
■Values: Dreams, daily maintenance
■Dislikes: Anyone who would mock dreams, tanuki and crows, low wages
Robo-Ky is a humanoid weapon developed in a laboratory run by the Post-War Administration Bureau, modeled after Ky Kiske.
Although he may be a robot, he is quite the ladies man. The source of his power comes from a powerful beetle within him known as the Hercules Engine.
He loses his pride and joy, his body frame, in the battle with Bedman. Undeterred by this cruel twist of fate, however, he works to earn his repair fees by helping out at Venom's bakery.
Reluctant to let things stay as they are, however...
He has finally saved up enough money to obtain a body for himself (albeit on a rental plan).
With his cool new suit and enthusiastic attitude, he barely resembles the original Ky he is modeled after.
And now he can pursue the dream he's always held close.
On July 2, Robo-Ky joined the battle as the second DLC character of Season 5.
Ever since losing his body in the story of the GUILTY GEAR Xrd series, Robo-Ky had been unable to fight as a playable character for a long time.
In GGST, he finally secured a rental body and returned to the battlefield in style.
In battle, his playstyle embodies Robo-Ky's signature instability and explosive potential, managing electricity to power up his special moves.
While building up his powered-up state is extremely satisfying, getting carried away can cause him to overheat or malfunction! We hope you enjoy this unpredictable, quintessentially Robo-Ky combat experience.
We received a massive response not only to Robo-Ky's design and moves, but also concerning the beetle working relentlessly inside the Hercules Engine. Some fans expressed concern over Arc System Works' labor conditions, but please rest assured: our company is a healthy, wholesome workplace!
To everyone who waited so long for Robo-Ky's revival, our entire team is thrilled to finally bring him back to you as a playable fighter.
Season 5 Reaches the Halfway Mark
With Jam and Robo-Ky now available, two of the four additional characters planned for Season 5 have arrived.
Season 5 still has two more playable characters on the way.
As announced this past summer, our third character scheduled for release in Winter 2026 will be a Guest Character.
We are preparing an opportunity to officially showcase the details of this Guest Character to everyone soon. While we can't reveal their identity just yet, please hang tight for the official announcement!
Development is progressing smoothly, and we're currently conducting extensive battle playtests to polish every detail.
Furthermore, in 2027, the fourth character concluding Season 5 is waiting in the wings. Unfortunately, we can't share any hints about this final character just yet.
From the Guest Character in Winter 2026 to the fourth character in Spring 2027, we're crafting fighters with completely distinct appeal and gameplay styles.
What we are aiming for with 2.0
Looking ahead, I'd like to talk a bit more about Version 2.0.
As mentioned in previous Developer's Backyards, Version 2.0 serves as a new foundation for enjoying GGST for years to come, acting as the launching pad for ongoing updates.
To that end, we're continuously expanding not only the combat environment, but also online matchmaking, incentives to keep playing, deep match analysis tools, and systems that broaden how every player can enjoy the game.
In particular, we are actively developing and testing highly requested features from long-time players, such as "taking control of characters mid-replay" and an "intuitive frame data display feature.”
Both present significant technical challenges that go beyond simple feature additions, requiring additional development time, but we're aiming to deliver them to you within 2027.
Additionally, we're developing a major new feature designed to help newcomers and those who find fighting game execution difficult freely control their characters and experience Guilty Gear's signature fast-paced offense, defense, and mind games.
We plan to introduce this feature in detail around the end of the year alongside actual gameplay footage. Please look forward to further updates alongside our winter DLC character!
Future of Battle Balance
On September 24, based on post-Ver. 2.00 match data, we released an update targeting key mechanics, including adjustments to Counter Blitz, input addition for Deflect Shield, specific character balancing, and bug fixes.
By continuously evaluating survey feedback, match data, and internal playtests conducted by our battle planners, we identify elements that need tuning to refine the game into an even better state.
Regarding future battle balance updates, rather than rebalancing every character in every patch, we will conduct targeted updates focusing on specific characters or mechanics as needed.
Our next balance update is scheduled for this winter and will be a targeted update focusing on select characters.
For our overall battle balance roadmap in GGST, taking into account competitive tournament schedules such as the Arc World Tour, we are planning roughly two balancing updates per year in total, combining large-scale adjustments that affect the entire game with targeted patches.
However, if we determine that prompt action is required for specific characters or mechanics, we will execute targeted adjustments like our recent patch.
Blazing Pass
The Blazing Pass was officially introduced in Update 2.0 as a system allowing players to earn character colors, outfits, accessories, UI skins, and Short Stories through daily challenges.
It offers a wide variety of content so players can enjoy GGST in ways beyond competitive matches. Following Duel 1: Reignite and Duel 2: Ennui Protocol, Duel 3: Steal the Spotlight is currently underway!
In Duel 3, in place of Short Stories, we prepared two brand-new outfits for Axl and Anji.
Anji's outfit Bankara was created based on an alternative costume concept drawn by Daisuke Ishiwatari during early development. This concept art was also featured in the Guilty Gear -Strive- Official Art Book released in April of this year.
Axl's outfit Street is a casual costume that offers a fresh look while retaining Axl's signature vibe.
While the alternative outfits are becoming common in many fighting games, implementing them in GGST was actually far from easy.
Our character models tightly integrate 3D geometry, hand-crafted animation curves, and visual effects to achieve our distinct anime-style cinematic visuals. As a result, the game was not initially engineered for costume swaps during early development.
This has been a heavily requested feature for a long time, which is why it took significant time and effort to bring to life.
While adding full outfits for every single character remains challenging, by combining customizable weapon accessories and cosmetics, we hope to give as many characters as possible fresh new looks for players to enjoy!
●Blazing Pass Progression and Future Improvements
We designed Blazing Pass progression so that players who join mid-season can easily catch up.
For instance, in a 12-week season, completing all Weekly Challenges alone awards enough points to gain roughly 67 levels! Combined with Daily Challenges, players can easily reach BP Level 70, where the main premium rewards for Blazing Pass Plus are located.
Once unlocked, Weekly Challenges can be completed all at once later during the availability period, so even if you join midway through a Duel, be sure to give them a shot!
That being said, we recognize that every player has their own distinct playstyle, and certain challenges might make it difficult to earn points as smoothly as intended.
We are currently considering reviewing and adjusting Weekly Challenges with low completion rates in future updates.
We plan to continue running the Blazing Pass moving forward, and we will keep refining the system based on player data and feedback to make it even more accessible and rewarding for upcoming content.
For rewards from past Blazing Passes, we also want to provide future opportunities for players who started GGST later or couldn't obtain items during the event period to acquire them through other means.
Enjoying the Music of Guilty Gear Even More
In July, we added a new feature: MUSIC PLAYLISTS.
This feature allows you to customize the BGM played during battles to your liking.
In addition to a common playlist, you can customize individual playlists for each character and even adjust the playback frequency for each song!
Throughout the long history of the Guilty Gear series, countless iconic tracks have been created. Moving forward, we want to expand how players enjoy existing music alongside composing new tracks.
And as part of our 5th anniversary celebration, we decided to produce brand-new character matchup theme songs! Lyrics and music will, of course, be composed by Daisuke Ishiwatari himself!
In fact, this community voting initiative was proposed by Ishiwatari-san himself.
The Preliminary Vote was held within the 5th Anniversary Survey, and the top 8 matchups below advanced to the Final Vote.
|
Results - The Following Matchups Will Advance to the Finals! |
|---|
|
Sol vs. Asuka |
|
Ky vs Robo-Ky |
|
May vs Johnny |
|
Axl vs I-No |
|
Nagoriyuki vs Slayer |
|
Anji vs Baiken |
|
Bridget vs Unika |
|
Venom vs Robo-Ky |
*The order of listing does not reflect the vote count ranking.
*"Sol vs Asuka" is tallied treating "Sol vs. Asuka R♯" and "Sol vs. Asuka R Kreutz" as the same.
The Final Vote among the top 8 matchups is set to begin very soon!
In addition to the 4 tracks already confirmed for production, the matchup that takes 1st place in the Final Vote will be produced as a special 5th track in honor of our 5th anniversary. Naturally, this track will also feature music and lyrics by Daisuke Ishiwatari!
Release is scheduled for Spring 2027, so please look forward to it in a future update!
Season 5 is finally entering its second half.
Along with the Guest Character coming this winter, we're preparing to reveal the new features mentioned today step-by-step toward the end of the year.
As we head into 2027, we're continuing our development efforts to make GGST even more accessible, deep, and enjoyable for every kind of player.
While we can't share everything just yet, we'll continue bringing these updates to life one by one. Thank you for your continued support of Guilty Gear -Strive-!
Our next Developer's Backyard will be our customary survey results announcement. In addition to the 5th Anniversary Survey results, we'll also announce the Final Vote winners for the character matchup theme songs!
Publication is planned for late October to early November, so please look forward to it!
Thank you very much for reading this far.
This concludes Developer's Backyard Vol. 20.
We keep accepting submissions for topics you’d like us to discuss in a future Developer’s Backyard, as well as questions and comments via the form below.
Check out the official GGST X for the latest info!
