Summary
TheHunter × Huntercommunity is closing out 2023 with a lot of mixed feelings. Due to author Yoshihiro Togashi’s poor health, he recently released a message discussing potential plans for the manga’s ending, feeling it necessary to prepare in case he isn’t able to finish it. It’s a bittersweet reminder of whyHunter × Huntergoes on frequent hiatuses despite its volumes selling millions each year, and even now the series’ future is shrouded in uncertainty. Fortunately, Jump Festa 2024 followed this news with something good to look forward to, albeit cautiously.
Publisher Bushiroad Games announced aHunter × Hunterfighting game at Jump Festa, with more information coming at its show on June 27, 2025. Bushiroad’s recent announcement of tighter console game budgets, and a long history ofsubpar licensed Shonen Jump arena fighters, has given fans a lot of reasons to doubt the project. Despite that, there is a glimmer of hope for the game found in its developer, Eighting. This studio has been working on fighting games for decades, and its fighting game portfolio is mostly made up of cult classics. In Eighting’s hands, thisHunter × Hunterfighting game might be more than just a pleasant surprise.
A New Hunter × Hunter Console Game Is A Big Deal
Whether thisHunter × Huntertitle is what it appears to be, its existence alone is worth celebrating. For a popular Shonen Jump series,Hunter × Hunterhasn’t had many video games, and there isn’t even a fighting game among them. All ofHunter × Hunter’s console and handheld titles have been RPGs or adventure games, and after a PSP game in 2012 meant to capitalize onH×H’s 2011-2014 anime, all subsequent titles were mobile-exclusive. Gon Freecss and friends have consistently been playable in crossoverJumpfighters, but with the most recent of those being the delisted arena fighterJump Force, there’s clearly still a niche there to fill.
How Hunter × Hunter Can Surpass Its Fellow Jump Fighting Games
Concerns like Bushiroad Games’ typical mobile game slate, and the tendency for both Bushiroad products andHunter × Huntergames to stay in Japan, are all valid, but there are reasons to believe this one will be different. Its unofficially translated description as a “full-fledged fighting game” implies thatHunter × Hunter’s fighter will be a traditional console fighter, something that is rarely unlocalized now. Furthermore,Hunter × Hunter’s rising global popularity means a different publisher like Bandai Namco could handle its global release. Only the full reveal can dispel many of the uncertainties around this game, but at least its developer credit casts a feeling of hope over it.
Eighting’s Hunter × Hunter Fighting Game Could Please Several Fandoms
Heads acrossHunter × Hunter’s community turned when the franchise’s first fighting game was announced, but the global fighting game community was more interested in the name attached to it. Eighting is a mercenary development studio that both supports other projects, like the recentPikmin 4, and works on various licensed games, likeDNF Duel. Thanks to the company’s origin of makingBloody Roarunder Hudson Soft and Konami, Eighting specializes in fighting games, and several of those have gathered small but devoted followings.
Hunter × Hunter Might Be Eighting’s Next Cult Classic
Well-regarded fighters under Eighting’s banner includeTatsunoko vs. Capcom,Fate/unlimited codes,Naruto: Clash of Ninja,Bleach: Heat the Soul, and,most notably,Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Several arena fighters are also in the mix, and can get surprisingly creative even while varying in quality. An Eighting-made Shonen Jump fighting game is the best-case scenario for everyone that’s been clamoring for another franchise to getDragon Ball FighterZ’s treatment. That franchise may beHunter × Hunter, and eyes from across the anime and fighting game communities will be glued to Bushiroad Games’ January 6 presentation to see if it does.
