Fighting game competition company Evolution Championship Series (Evo) announced this week that competitors and fans will be empowered to shape the first Evo events in 2026—Evo Japan and Evo Las Vegas.
In 2026, the number of player registrations will determine which games will get official “Arena Finals” at its upcoming events in Japan and Las Vegas.
In addition, fans will be able to nominate their “favorite players and moments” to decide in part who the finalists for the second annual Evo Awards will be. Early bird registration opened on Tuesday for Evo Las Vegas (open through Feb. 2, 2026) on evo.gg for three-day passes for less than $200 USD per person. Evo Japan registration also opens on Tuesday at evojapan.gg.
Both Evo Japan and Evo Las Vegas will feature an expanded 12 titles. New for 2026, the six games with the most registered competitors will be featured in the Arena Finals. It was also revealed that Evo Las Vegas will have a minimum guaranteed prize pool of $500,000 across all game titles.
“Evo is defined by its global community, and we want fans worldwide to have an active voice in the experiences available at our events this year,” said Rick Thiher, GM for Evo. “2025 saw record-setting events from Evo across the globe, and that passionate response inspires our team to continue creating and expanding opportunities for the FGC in the years ahead.”
Evo Japan will take place in Tokyo on May 1-3, 2026, at Tokyo Big Sight and include the following titles:
- Street Fighter 6
- 2XKO
- TEKKEN 8
- Guilty Gear -Strive-
- Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
- Virtua Fighter 5: REVO World Stage –
- Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes
- THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV –
- Melty Blood Type Lumina –
- Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire
- Hokuto No Ken
Evo Las Vegas will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from June 26-28, 2026, and welcomes back Chipotle as presenting partner. Games set for competitive action at the show include:
- Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves – 4th appearance at Evo
- Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising
- Guilty Gear -Strive-
- 2XKO
- Street Fighter 6
- TEKKEN 8
- Virtua Fighter 5: REVO World Stage
- INVINCIBLE VS
- Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes
- Rivals of Aether II
- Blazblue Centralfiction
- Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire
In addition to the competitions, Evo events will feature cosplay contests, showcase events, panels, and keynote speakers. More details will be announced at a later date.
Finally Evo announced that the Evo Awards Show returns for the second consecutive year, this time sponsored by its new co-owner Qiddiya Gaming.
Fans can nominate their favorite players, moments, and more through Jan. 9, 2026, to determine the finalists for each category. The winners will be announced at the Evo Awards Show in Los Angeles on March 28, 2026.
The list of Evo Awards Categories are below:
- Best Game Release
- Best Character
- Best Product
- Comeback of the Year
- Best Pop Off
- Best Commentary
- Best Content Creator
- Best Dressed
- Best Cosplay
- Best Custom Controller
- Best Local
- Best Combo
- Best Online Series
- Best Artist
- Best Meme
- They’ve Got Next (upcoming new player)
- Commentator of the Year
- Match of the Year
- Player of the Year
- Moment of the Year
This week’s announcement about Evo Japan and Evo Vegas is the first major update since that fighting game company announced that it has new ownership: Evo is now owned and operated by India-based NODWIN Gaming and the Saudi Arabian government owned mega city project Qiddiya Gaming.
On Sept. 2, The Esports Advocate reported that Saudi Arabian mega-city project Qiddiya had taken full ownership of tournament organizer RTS, the owner of Evo. On Aug 31, TEA reported that India-based NODWIN Gaming had acquired Sony Interactive Entertainment’s stake in Evo for an undisclosed amount—in that same announcement, Qiddiya announced that it has invested an undisclosed amount in Evo co-owner RTS. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Qiddiya Gaming is part of the mega city project Qiddiya, and is fully owned by the Saudi Arabian government’;s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Projects backed or owned by the Saudi Arabian government such as Qiddiya are frequently criticized for helping the government engage in “sports washing,” or using various forms of entertainment to cover up its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGTBQ+ rights, military actions in Yemen, and more. These and other criticisms have been highlighted by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.