Even if Raphael doesn't make SoulCalibur VI, for the sake of argument, that doesn't rule him out of SoulCalibur VII, you know. The assumption, for me at least, is that the next game would pick up where this one leaves off, and Raphael can always enter the story later in the timeline, like some others that won't make it into this story, such as Setsuka and Hilde. They can get their development with all new stories in the next game along with new supporting cast members as well. I figure that SoulCalibur VI is but the framework for a new beginning.

We would have to wait 6 years for that, assuming SCVII would even be guaranteed at all. One would think they know better than to piss off fans after seeing their reactions to SCV, they can't afford to make risky decisions like that. If this game will only cover the events of SCI, then I'm not going to consider this a reboot of the series, but a remake of the first game. In that case, any character that is included from SCII onwards besides Zasalamel (since he is immortal and is reborn in every age), has no reason to be in the game. There is no way Talim and Tira won't make it in the game so the only excuse is popularity. Raphael placed #19 in the Facebook poll, higher than Maxi, Hwang, Astaroth, Lizardman/Aeon and Rock. But Maxi has already been revealed and Astaroth and Lizardman are likely to return based on the screenshots. They can easily give Raphael an important role in the story, he and other characters joining the series later should NOT be a barrier that prevents them from being in the game since they did away with the original ages and timeline. Talim and Tira are not going to be 10 years old in this game, that's ridiculous. There is absolutely no excuse for not including Raphael.