Launched in July 2023, SNK vs. Capcom: SVC CHAOS features 36 fighters from both companies. SNK fields Fatal Fury mainstays like Mai Shiranui and Terry Bogard alongside Shiki (Samurai Shodown 64) and Mars People. Capcom has the likes of Ryu, Chun-Li, Demitri Maximoff (Darkstalkers) and Zero (Mega Man Zero). You can even immeidately play as secret Arcade characters, Athena and Red Arremer, from the outset.

The re-release also boasts numerous quality-of-life improvements and additions, including rollback netcode for online play, a hitbox viewer and a Gallery Mode for viewing over 80 pieces of artwork. Online lobbies for up to nine players are also available, and players can set up tournaments with various formats like single elimination, round-robin and more.

Microsoft stealth released the Phantom Dust remaster on May 16 without any fanfare- but they gave it one crucial shot in the arm so that it would do well- they made it absolutely free. For everyone. Absolutely free, no hidden clauses, no asterisks.

Did the gambit pay off? Apparently. Adam Isgreen, Creative Director at Microsoft Studios has announced that the game now has 1 million players- given that it’s a free download, that presumably means it has ‘sold’ 1 million copies.

“On behalf of Microsoft and Code Mystics, we’d just like to say thank you to the over one million players out there that have checked the game out – this blows away the original numbers of players the game had when first released, and we couldn’t be happier with the level of exposure that it has received,” he said.

Additionally, a new patch for the game was also announced, which you can see the patch notes for for yourself below. Phantom Dust is available on Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One.

• Expansion skills are now available! (after Wednesday game update)
• In-game voice chat
• NPC mission guide
• Optimized performance options
• Updated Quick Match behavior to handle full lobbies more gracefully
• Resolved screen orientation issue that was present on some devices
• Fixed a bug on PC where title performance would dip on some systems when the VSync toggle option is set to off
• Fixed a bug where the active user can be changed without returning to the Phantom Dust title screen after a prompted sign in following a sign out from the main menu
• Fixed a bug where the cursor navigation inputs remain permanently active when a gamepad is disconnected while a cursor navigation input is held