Fantasy Strike is Now Free-to-Play and Has New Characters and Features

All Characters Playable for Free Online; Founder's Pack Granted to Previous Owners

EMERYVILLE, Calif. – April X, 2020 – Fantasy Strike, the fighting game from Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix lead designer David Sirlin, goes free-to-play for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam for Windows PC, Mac, and Linux on April X, 2020. This update also includes two new characters, a new optional set of subscription features, and cosmetic items and animations for the entire roster.

A first for free-to-play fighting games, Fantasy Strike will now allow players to play ALL characters for free online immediately with no grind-to-unlock. This includes the two new characters, Sirus Quince and General Onimaru, who each add new mechanics to the game. Quince deploys illusions to confuse his opponents and can make these illusions “real” for a limited time by landing his super. Meanwhile, Onimaru uses deliberate, powerful sword strikes that can become unblockable in the right situation.

All Fantasy Strike players can play online in casual and ranked modes and watch the action in spectator mode. Practice mode, solo matches vs. AI opponents, and the daily challenges are also all available for free. Those looking for more can find it in The Core Pack, which provides access to local Versus mode, online matches against friends, Boss Rush mode, Survival mode, and an Arcade mode with beautifully-illustrated narrative sequences. Those looking for a lot more can buy the Collector’s Pack, featuring everything in the Core Pack plus a lot of cosmetics, an exclusive “Party Time” KO effect, and one year of the new Fantasy+ subscription.

Fantasy+ is a new optional subscription that grants access to special Master Costumes for each character who reaches experience level 20, doubles XP gains, and introduces an extensive new Replay Theater feature. With this, players can watch replays of their own matches, search for replays containing any specific characters and skill levels they want, and watch and endless stream of replays in the new Ranked TV and Friend TV channels. Players can adjust the playback speed of replays, scrub though them as they would a video, and even frame step through them for deep analysis.

“We worked tirelessly to find a way to maintain the competitive integrity of Fantasy Strike that our existing players love while opening it up to an even broader audience,” said David Sirlin, game director, Fantasy Strike. “We believe this free-to-play update continues our mission of crafting a fighting game that removes the barrier to being a contender, while also providing excellent value for those who want additional features and to support our work."

Fantasy Strike provides a friendly meeting ground for newcomers and veterans to learn and enjoy hardcore fighting games. Designed to teach and demystify, Fantasy Strike shows players its systems clearly with in-depth video tutorials and innovative frame advantage visual effects. These helpful features are married with other amenities like one-click friend challenges and spectating, built-on-the-fly tournaments, cross-platform play support between all systems, latency-combating GGPO technology, and more.

The update featuring new characters, free-to-play features, and cosmetic items is available today on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam for Windows PC, Mac, and Linux. Previous owners automatically receive access to the Founder's Pack, which includes everything in the Core Pack plus 60 costume color sets (over $100 value if bought separately). The Core Pack is priced at $19.99, while the Collector’s Pack will be available for $99.99. A Fantasy+ subscription can be purchased in 1-month, 6-month, and 12-month increments in-game with gems (approximate value of $4.99, $24.99, and $39.99, respectively).

To learn more about Fantasy Strike, visit the official website and follow the game on Twitter.

Assets

Free-to-Play Trailer

Screenshots, GIFs, Logos, Art Downloads

About Sirlin Games

David Sirlin, lead designer of Street Fighter HD Remix, author of Playing to Win and a former pro fighting game player, helms Sirlin Games, an independent video game developer based in Emeryville, California that specializes in competitive multiplayer games.

Fantasy Strike Now Available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC

EMERYVILLE, CA – July 25, 2019 – Fantasy Strike, the new fighting game from Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix lead designer David Sirlin, launches today for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 while punching its way out of Steam Early Access on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Fantasy Strike is both a deep tournament game for hardcore genre fans and an introduction to the genre for newcomers. Its design philosophy centers around making the often-opaque aspects of the genre clear and understandable and helping players get to the strategic, decision-making phase of competition as soon as possible.

Beginners benefit from in-depth video tutorials for all 10 characters. These five-minute videos, available via a slick interface in the Learn section of the Main Menu, are narrated by game director David Sirlin. Novices and experts alike all benefit from innovative frame advantage visual effects — never seen in any fighting game before. This imagery communicates with each hit who will recover first and by how much, teaching players which attacks are risky and even shows moves that can be safe depending on timing and spacing.

The online play system seeks to further innovate in the genre by allowing one-click challenges from the in-game friends menu, as well as one-click spectating of any friend. The Ranked Mode uses built-on-the-fly tournaments and a team battle system unlike that of other games; it’s specifically designed to create maximum variety in character matchups for the community. The network code itself uses the excellent GGPO technology combined with proprietary latency-hiding tech that results in extraordinarily smooth online play for a fighting game.

Fantasy Strike also ships with a variety of single-player modes, including a traditional Arcade Mode with beautifully-illustrated story sequences, four Survival Modes, Daily Challenges, and a substantial Boss Rush mode where players build a deck of powerups against increasingly powerful AI bosses.

“I think it’s exciting that Fantasy Strike delivers as much or even more depth than players are used to in this genre while only needing a fraction of the complexity to do it,” said David Sirlin, game director, Sirlin Games. “We look forward to welcoming new faces into the community now that the game is available on consoles and in full release on PC.”

Fantasy Strike is out now via the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store, and Steam for $29.99 / €32.99 / £28.99 / $46.99 AUD and supports English, French, Spanish, Norwegian, and Japanese language options.

To learn more about Fantasy Strike, visit the official website and follow the game on Twitter.

Assets

Cinematic Trailer

Gameplay Trailer

Trailer Downloads 

Screenshots, GIFs, Art Downloads

About Sirlin Games

David Sirlin, lead designer of Street Fighter HD Remix, author of Playing to Win and a former pro fighting game player, helms Sirlin Games, an independent video game developer based in Emeryville, California that specializes in competitive multiplayer games.

Fantasy Strike Will Launch on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PC on July 25

EMERYVILLE, CA–June 27th, 2019–Fantasy Strike, the fighting game from Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix lead designer David Sirlin, punches its way out of Steam Early Access and onto Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Mac, and Linux on July 25, 2019.

The secret to how Fantasy Strike works as both a deep tournament game for hardcore genre fans as well as an introduction to the genre for newcomers is that both ends of the spectrum benefit from the game’s extreme emphasis on strategy over difficult controls. Both kinds of players also benefit from its innovations in making a fighting game more readable and understandable than ever before; that helps everyone make the most informed strategy decisions they can.

One example of these innovations is a unique feature never seen in any fighting game before: a visual display of “frame advantage.” These visual effects communicate which player will recover first and by how much after every hit. Fantasy Strike also goes the extra mile to get everyone thinking strategically by including, inside the game itself, tutorial videos for every character narrated by game director David Sirlin.

Fantasy Strike offers: an Arcade Mode with illustrated narrative bookends, a Boss Rush Mode that allows players draft their own deck of powerups against progressively powerful opponents, and Ranked Mode with built-on-the-fly tournaments and 3-on-3 team battles designed to offer a variety of matchups while removing the concepts of counter-picks. It also includes four Survival modes, a once-per-day Daily Challenge Mode, and, of course, local and online Versus featuring best-in-class GGPO networking technology for a fast and responsive online experience.

“Online play is so important to fighting games that we’re trying to push the genre forward here,” said David Sirlin, game director of Fantasy Strike. “Part of that is on our technical implementation of networking which somehow allows me, in California, to play my friend in Tokyo and have it feel totally responsive and smooth. The other part is modernizing the genre conventions for user interface so it’s just a single click to challenge a friend online and a single click to watch any friend’s match. Come try it out with us on July 25th.”

Fantasy Strike will be available for $29.99 USD / €32.99 / £28.99 / $46.99 AUD with support for English, French, Spanish, Norwegian, and Japanese language options at launch.

To learn more about Fantasy Strike, visit the official website and follow the game on Twitter.

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Assets

Trailer, screenshots, and logos are here.

About Sirlin Games

David Sirlin, lead designer of Street Fighter HD Remix, author of Playing to Win and a former pro fighting game player, helms Sirlin Games, an independent video game developer based in Emeryville, California that specializes in competitive multiplayer games.

Fantasy Strike now available on Linux

EMERYVILLE, CA - September 6th - Sirlin Games’ revolutionary new fighting game Fantasy Strike is now available on Linux. This brings the current available platforms to PC, Mac and Linux (on sale now for $19.99 on Steam), with PS4 and Nintendo Switch versions on the way at full release in Q1 of 2019.

Fantasy Strike is a fighting game that has re-imagined the genre with its emphasis on elegance in gameplay as well as in user interface. The gameplay streamlines fighting games to their essence, making their depth more apparent and accessible. As a piece of software, Fantasy Strike aims to excel at features where others have struggled: a single click to challenge a friend, a single click to watch a friend play, best-in-class netcode (GGPO), fast loading times, and more.

The development team is led by Super Street Fighter 2: HD Remix lead developer and former fighting game pro David Sirlin. “For years I’ve been frustrated by the sorry state of usability in most fighting game software. You can’t even use the mouse in the PC version of Street Fighter 5—in 2018—and good luck challenging a friend,” Sirlin said.

The Linux version has cross-compatible netplay with the PC and Mac versions and comes shortly after a September update for Fantasy Strike that features new graphical updates and a new stage. Sirlin Games has consistently updated the game at least once a month throughout its development and plans to add more features each month until launch early next year.

CURRENT DEVELOPMENT STATUS

Fantasy Strike has been in development for over three years and is currently available for PC/Mac/Linux via Steam Early Access. Fantasy Strike’s launch roster includes 10 unique characters each with their own stage. Single player modes include Arcade (with fully-voiced story sequences and character endings), Daily Challenge and four Survival modes, as well as training mode, an interactive tutorial, and a “Learn” section that includes tutorial videos for all 10 playable characters. Multiplayer modes include Local Versus, Online Quick Match, and Friend Challenge/Spectate. Fantasy Strike launches on PC, Mac, Linux, PS4 and Nintendo Switch in early 2019.

About Sirlin Games

David Sirlin, lead designer of Street Fighter HD Remix, author of Playing to Win and a former pro fighting game player, helms Sirlin Games, an independent video game developer based in Emeryville, California that specializes in competitive multiplayer games.

Fantasy Strike Announced for Nintendo Switch

EMERYVILLE, CA—March 20th, 2018—Fantasy Strike, the upcoming fighting game from Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix lead designer David Sirlin, will come to Nintendo Switch this Q1 2019, simultaneously launching alongside the previously announced PC and PlayStation 4 versions.

“Fantasy Strike is the perfect fighting game for Switch,” said Sirlin. “The Switch is a take-anywhere console, so fighting games would be great on it if not for how notoriously difficult they are to control. Usually, playing a fighting game on a JoyCon would be tough, but Fantasy Strike is designed specifically for that. Detach the JoyCons, give one to a friend, and you can play a deep, strategic fighting game anywhere.”

Currently in Steam Early Access, Fantasy Strike has been rapidly deploying new features, modes, and increasing production values. In their most recent patch, Sirlin Games added professional voice acting and facial animation for all 10 characters as well as a brand new Team Battle mode. In a Team Battle, players choose 3 characters each and play a variety of different matchups, which is great as a tournament format as well as for casual play.

Sirlin Games has also boosted its networking technology over the last few months, combining GGPO (the best-in-class networking tech that allows there to be no input delay) with its own networking tech that now allows for smooth connections even across continents.

Fantasy Strike entered Steam Early Access in September of 2017. The game is currently available for $19.99 USD in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Hungarian, Turkish, Japanese, with additional language support planned for the final release.

To learn more about Fantasy Strike, visit the game’s Steam page.

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Assets

Trailer, screenshots, and logos are here.

About Sirlin Games

David Sirlin, lead designer of Street Fighter HD Remix, author of Playing to Win and a former pro fighting game player, helms Sirlin Games, an independent video game developer based in Emeryville, California that specializes in competitive multiplayer games.

David Sirlin’s Fantasy Strike Enters Steam Early Access

EMERYVILLE, CA—Sept. 14th, 2017—Fantasy Strike, the accessible fighting game from Super
Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix lead designer David Sirlin, begins round one with today’s release on Steam Early Access for Windows and Mac. Fantasy Strike will simultaneously come to PlayStation 4 when it exits early access and officially launches in 2018.

Designed with accessibility in mind, Fantasy Strike provides players with a rare experience in the world of fighting games: a game that’s unusually easy to jump into, yet with the depth of strategy and tactics that hardcore fans of the genre expect.

Fantasy Strike’s diverse roster of combatants includes a painter, a watchmaker, flame archer, a dragon-man, and more. It’s fifth and latest battle arena debuts in today’s release: the beautiful Morningstar Sanctuary—the in-world location of the Fantasy Strike tournament itself. A full set of game modes are also available, including arcade, practice, local versus, and online play with the best-in- class GGPO networking technology to minimize online lag.

The Steam Early Access release also unveils many new graphical improvements to cel-shading and visual effects as well as a new “Friend Match” feature. True to Fantasy Strike’s mission to be as approachable as possible, Friend Match allows players to challenge friends online without the hassle of creating lobbies or bothering with external Steam menus. To play a friend, you simply highlight their name in your in-game Steam friends list, click challenge, then you and your friend are presented with the same flow as if you were playing the local versus mode together in the same room.

“Whether you’re an expert at fighting games or new to the genre, there’s a big hump you have
to get over in any new fighting game before you can ‘play for real’,” said David Sirlin, President, Sirlin Games. “Before you get to the juicy part where it’s all about your decisions, you have to be able to actually do all the moves, do the basic combos, know your entire move list, and so on. From its inception, Fantasy Strike has been about launching experts and new players past the usual training mode drudgery as fast as possible. We want you enjoying the intricate dance of fighting games in minutes, not in weeks or months.”

Fantasy Strike will launch for $19.99 on Steam Early Access. The game will be available in English with additional language support planned for the final release in 2018.

To learn more about Fantasy Strike, visit the game’s Steam page.

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Assets

Trailer, screenshots, and logos are here.

About Sirlin Games

David Sirlin, lead designer of Street Fighter HD Remix, author of Playing to Win and a former
pro fighting game player, helms Sirlin Games, an independent video game developer based in
Emeryville, California that specializes in competitive multiplayer games.

Second Fantasy Strike Free Demo Weekend Set for August 11-14th on PC, Mac

EMERYVILLE, Calif. - August 7 - A pre-alpha build of Fantasy Strike, the accessible fighting game for everyone from beginners to fighting game pros, will be available for free this coming weekend. Developed by Sirlin Games,  Fantasy Strike will launch for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Mac in late 2018.

The free period will take place worldwide beginning August 11th at 11am PT and end on August 14th at 11:59pm PT. Simply download the Free Weekend build of the game, unzip it, then run the Fantasy Strike app. The builds are available for download here. The app will not function before or after the Free Weekend period.

The pre-alpha build will provide full access to eight playable characters and four stages. Online quick match play supporting cross-play between PC and Mac gamers, a local versus mode, a full-featured training mode and an arcade mode will be available in this preview. It includes many changes since the last free weekend event, including faster pacing, a dedicated button for throwing, smoother online play (using GGPO networking), balance changes, and several graphics improvements.

Fantasy Strike is still in a pre-alpha state, meaning it is not feature complete. The content and features players will see are still in development.

Sirlin Games is running a crowd-publishing campaign for  Fantasy Strike on Fig, offering both reward opportunities and investment in Fig Game Shares for Fantasy Strike that will generate a return based on the game's sales revenue.

About Sirlin Games

David Sirlin, lead designer of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, author of Playing to Win and a former pro fighting game player, helms Sirlin Games, an independent video game developer based in Emeryville, California that specializes in competitive multiplayer games.

Fantasy Strike Free Demo Weekend Set for July 28-30th on PC, Mac

EMERYVILLE, Calif. - July 26 - A pre-alpha build of Fantasy Strike, the accessible fighting game for everyone from beginners to fighting game pros, will be available for free this weekend. Developed by Sirlin Games,  Fantasy Strike will launch for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Mac in late 2018.

The free period will take place worldwide beginning July 28th at 11am PT and end on July 30th at 11:59pm PT. Simply download the Free Weekend build of the game, unzip it, then run the Fantasy Strike app. The builds are available for download here. The app will not function before or after the Free Weekend period.

The pre-alpha build will provide full access to eight playable characters and four stages. Online quick match play supporting cross-play between PC and Mac gamers, a local versus mode, a full-featured training mode and an arcade mode will be available in this preview.

Fantasy Strike is still in a pre-alpha state, meaning it is not feature complete. The content and features players will see are still in development.

Sirlin Games is running a crowd-publishing campaign for  Fantasy Strike on Fig, offering both reward opportunities and investment in Fig Game Shares for Fantasy Strike that will generate a return based on the game's sales revenue.

About Sirlin Games

David Sirlin, lead designer of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, author of Playing to Win and a former pro fighting game player, helms Sirlin Games, an independent video game developer based in Emeryville, California that specializes in competitive multiplayer games.