The Soulcalibur series was one of the most important in the early 3D fighting game space, with the 1998 console release of the second game in particular blowing up to become the 2nd-highest rated game of all time. In the years since, the franchise’s popularity has ebbed and flowed, with the 2020s being particularly quiet. That said, according to the long-time head of fighting game rival Tekken “I don't think the fire of [Soulcalibur] has been extinguished.”
Katsuhiro Harada, the long-time Tekken Project lead, is a well respected representative for the fighting game community, sharing many of his thoughts via lengthy Twitter posts.
In response to one user who directly compared the current status of the Soulcalibur series to its contemporary Tekken, Harada released a lengthy post sharing his thoughts. His full thoughts can be found HERE, but in summary:
“[The TEKKEN Project] were never obedient, but always a wicked group with a strong will (I've realized through these experiences that, unfortunately, I probably have a bad personality). I think this was the only difference between TEKKEN Project and Project Soul.”
“I think that the fact that the number of members who had the drive to keep the title alive, even if they had to jump through all kinds of pressure, decreased as the organization changed, and that is one of the aspects that weakened Project Soul little by little. I am not saying that is all but it was a big factor. Happened due to organizational policy, not individual problems.”
That said, according to Harada, Soulcalibur will return, stating “But from my point of view, I don't think the fire of Project Soul has been extinguished. There are still a few people in the company who have the will to do it. I would like to believe that they are just not united now.”
With its sword-focused mechanics, Soulcalibur is a unique series among the fighting game crowd and so hopefully we do get a 7th entry at some point.
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KitGuru says: What do you think of the Soulcalibur series? Will it come back? Who was your favourite guest character from SCVI? Let us know down below.