is a reporter who covers the business, culture, and communities of video games, with a focus on marginalized gamers and the quirky, horny culture of video game communities.
Evo 2025, the biggest fighting game tournament in North America, starts this weekend. If you tune into one of the nine different Evo Twitch channels you’ll see some of the top players in the world compete in fighting game staples like Street Fighter and Tekken, and newer games like King of Fighters: City of the Wolves, and Rivals of Aether II. The fighting starts today and lasts till late Sunday, August 3rd. Though this year is smaller, with fewer entrants than last year, there’s still plenty of reasons to watch.
While Evo remains one of the most highly attended fighting game tournaments in the world, this year, the number of entrants are slipping. Last year there were over 10,000 attendees — setting a record for the highest number of unique competitors in a fighting game tournament ever. This year, that number is significantly lower with the number of entrants slipping to over 8,500.
There could be a number of explanations for this. Economic volatility driven by inflation and policy has made the cost of living rise precipitously. When people have to think twice between groceries and a trip to Vegas (where Evo is annually held), the trip to Vegas typically loses out. Evo has also expanded, adding tournaments first in Japan, then France, and now Singapore, giving international players more of a choice of which events to attend.
Safety is potentially another reason why players are staying away. Evo is an internationally known and recognized tournament, players from all over the world compete in this event.
