That’s right, everyone’s favorite fighting game Canadian (don’t hurt me, Maxima fans) Wolf Hawkfield has returned to the spotlight and will be a character in the upcoming Virtua Fighter 6, sporting a new look complete with a beard and pants instead of boxer briefs.
This return probably is not much of a surprise to Virtua Fighter fans, or fighting game fans in general. Wolf Hawkfield is typically known as the archetypical “grappler” of the Virtua Fighter series, and he’s been a mainstay for the franchise since its inception, however like the other series mainstay Akira Wolf has become a bit more gruff in the time between Virtua Fighter 5 and Virtua Fighter 6. As the designers point out, “legacy characters have been refined for the modern age but remain authentic at their core.”
If you want the full details into Wolf’s design and the design philosophy behind Virtua Fighter 6’s art direction in general I highly recommend watching the full 12 minute Virtua Fighter 2025 Spring Direct here:
The video also goes over Wolf’s motivation since Virtua Fighter 5, and his intro details a retirement he went through.
Also featured in the Virtua Fighter 2025 Spring Direct is the announcement of Virtua Fighter 5 REVO on all platforms with crossplay between them. In addition to that, however, a major part of the announcement is that they’re adding more content to make REVO more than a mere port, which could mean any number of things but it’s nice that such a classic game is getting updated love in some fashion.
Overall, the future is looking pretty bright for the Virtua Fighter franchise. It’s great that a series that was long thought dead is now becoming more active, and with the current state of 3D fighters it might be in prime position to really make some waves in the FGC.