Virtua Fighter is one of the most respected fighting game franchises; even in the West, where its popularity doesn’t match that of other games, the series is still highly respected for its technical depth. Despite this, we haven’t really seen anything new regarding the Virtua Fighter franchise for a long time–outside of character guest-appearances in other games.

That said, it seems that Sega may still have some plans for franchise in the future. According to Trademarkia, the company has recently renewed the trademark for Virtua Fighter.

Now, take note that this doesn’t necessarily mean that a new Virtua Fighter game is coming–companies renew their trademarks all the time, if just to protect them. But it does show that Sega retains enough interest in the franchise to hold on to their trademark for it.

Source: Trademarkia via VFDC