Nearly two months after its launch on PlayStation 5 and PC, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is drawing a fresh line under the performance troubles that marred its debut, with developers at Arc System Works openly apologizing for the rocky start and hoping disheartened players return to see how much the experience has improved. The tag-team fighter arrived in August to critical acclaim and enthusiastic PS5 reception, yet PC gamers were greeted by a wave of issues that cast a shadow over an otherwise promising release.
The uneven launch prompted multiple updates across both platforms, with the first downloadable character, Phoenix Cyclops, now slated for a Fall 2026 arrival. With both Arc System Works and Marvel expressing satisfaction at where things currently stand, the studio is looking to rebuild trust among those who may have walked away during the game’s rough opening week.
A rocky start
The development team did not shy away from addressing the most pressing concern surrounding Tokon: its troubled PC launch. “First of all, I would just like to apologize to all of the players,” said Yamanaka through a translator. “The PC version launched with so many issues, and I realized that it caused a lot of inconvenience and concern to so many players.”
When pressed on what triggered the buggy release, Yamanaka was candid about the difficulty of pinpointing a single culprit. “It wasn’t something that could be traced back to a single cause we could easily address,” he explained. “The game was played on various computers in various environments with various specs, and multiple things all came together to create all of the different issues that popped up.”
Multiple patches introduced since August have noticeably improved the experience according to Yamanaka, who cited reports from players indicating better performance and playability. Yet beyond fixing technical problems, the team wants former skeptics to return and judge the changes for themselves. “I do hope that any players who experience problems can go back and see, with the updates, if the game experience has improved for them.”
“As far as the actual content of the game itself, I’ve seen a lot of players really enjoying it. I really do appreciate that there’s so many players out there having so much fun with the game.”
Sekine, Arc System Works
Sekine added nuance to the conversation by noting that not all early feedback was negative, pointing to players who clocked up to 100 hours in the first week alone. The studio appears confident it has put the rough debut behind it.
Maintaining balance
Beyond technical fixes, Arc System Works is focused on a more enduring challenge: keeping the game balanced as its roster and mechanics continue to evolve. Sekine explained that the team’s core ambition was to “create this new and chaotic tag fighter experience,” adding that player feedback suggests they are “heading in the right direction.”
The developer acknowledged that discovering balance is an ongoing process, one built on internal test play and careful judgment about what players will accept. “When we’re developing the game as well, we do a lot of test play amongst the team,” Sekine said. “When we discover things, we think, ‘Will the players accept this? Is this okay? Is this going too far? Is this too strong?’ We have the same kind of discussions that we see players having once the game is out.”
Sekine also revealed how character identity drives design decisions, using Deadpool as a prime example. Tokon’s version of the fourth-wall-breaking antihero incorporates moves, poses, and quotes drawn from fighting game history—an idea Sekine developed to leave a lasting impression on players.
“My image of Deadpool is that no matter where he shows up, he always leaves this big impact on the audience. I definitely wanted our Deadpool to live up to that, and that’s when I came up with the idea to use his ability to break the fourth wall to bring in various references.”
Sekine, Arc System Works
The concept required sign-off from partners beyond the development team. Sekine said he brought the idea up “half-jokingly” to PlayStation and Marvel, who were immediately on board—a collaboration that allowed the character’s memorable design to come to life.
A Marvel-ous partnership
From Marvel’s side, enthusiasm for Tokon remains high despite the initial PC setbacks. Francisco of Marvel Games praised the community’s passionate engagement and the way players have pushed the game to its limits through combo videos, tournaments, and social media discovery.
“We’ve seen so much great engagement from the fans and the community,” Francisco said. “The combo videos, the tournaments, the new tech that people are finding on social media is so heartwarming to us, because it means that people really love the game.”
Francisco also expressed delight at the thriving competitive scene emerging around Tokon, citing communities such as CEO and Tampa Never Sleeps. He noted with amusement how tier lists have varied wildly from week to week, pointing to a game of considerable depth.
“Is Miss Marvel at the bottom, or is she at the top? Where does Hulk go, because he can kill your entire team by himself, but it’s hard to play as him in neutral? These types of debates show that the game has a lot of depth and is still relatively unsolved.”
Francisco, Marvel Games
The future of Tokon
As players look ahead, much attention centers on who might join the playable roster. Only one character—Phoenix Cyclops—has been confirmed for post-launch addition, a surprising deep cut that hints at the studio’s creative ambitions.
“We’re always trying to balance these three criteria and thread the needle between that,” Francisco said, “because we always want to deliver on what fans know and love, but also create something new and fresh so their love for Marvel can expand.”
Arc System Works reaffirmed its commitment to long-term support regardless of future roster additions. “If any new in-game issues come up, that’s something that we would continue to try to address as promptly as possible,” Yamanaka said. “This game is something that we want to continue to support and update to make it something that will really stay with the community.”
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