The fighting game boom is in full swing, and amazingly 2012 is shaping up to be biggest and best year yet. So big that we’re expanding both the Evo game roster and the Road to Evo tournament season! Without further ado, here’s a glimpse of what’s in store for Evo 2012.

Evo 2012 Game Roster

Street Fighter X Tekken

Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, Version 2012

Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3

Soul Calibur 5

King of Fighters 13

Mortal Kombat 9

This is maybe the most exciting roster we’ve ever had. It’s got tried and true tournament games with balance refreshes, two series reboots that both show great potential, and a great variety of play styles from old school 2D to the zaniness of Marvel to an updated take on classic 3D fighting. It’s amazing to see so many great games hit the market at one time and we can’t wait to see who comes out on top in each of these games.

Road to Evo 2012

It’s our privilege to be able to work with so many of the grassroots tournament organizers worldwide to help seed players for Evo. In 2012 we’re making three big changes to the tournament season.

More tournaments, which means more chances to earn seeding points

All games are seeded, not just SFIV and UMvC3

Simplified point structure

The first two points are self-explanatory. Here’s the new system for how points are awarded. At each tournament:

50, 25, 10 points are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place respectively

1 lousy point is awarded for 4th – 12th place

We’ve made these changes to reflect the reality that a double elimination bracket is really only accurate for the top few places (just the top 2 if you want to be scientific about it, but with good seeds you can have high confidence on third place as well). Remember, there are lots of pools for each game at Evo; the bigger games have hundreds of pools. So the most important factor is to earn that first point that puts you in the group of players who are seeded. Here are the events for 2012. A big thanks to all the organizers of these events for participating in the Road to Evo this year.

Apex Tournament Series , New Brunswick, New Jersey Jan 6-8

, New Brunswick, New Jersey Jan 6-8 Winter Brawl , Philadelphia, PA Feb 18-19

, Philadelphia, PA Feb 18-19 OzHadou Nationals X , Sydney, Australia Feb 17-19

, Sydney, Australia Feb 17-19 Final Round , Atlanta, GA March 2-4

, Atlanta, GA March 2-4 South East Asia Major , Bugis Arcade, Singapore June 9-10

, Bugis Arcade, Singapore June 9-10 NorCal Regionals 10 , March 24-25

, March 24-25 Texas Showdown , Houston, Texas April 6-8

, Houston, Texas April 6-8 PowerUp 2012 , Cincinnati, Ohio April 13-15

, Cincinnati, Ohio April 13-15 Team Mad Catz Championships , San Diego, CA April 13-15

, San Diego, CA April 13-15 Toryuken , Toronto Ontario, Canada May 19-20

, Toronto Ontario, Canada May 19-20 Season’s Beatings: Summer Slam , Columbus, OH May 5th

, Columbus, OH May 5th Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament 8 , Chicago, IL May 25-27

, Chicago, IL May 25-27 Montreal Annual Tournament , Montreal, Canada June 2-3

, Montreal, Canada June 2-3 Northwest Majors , Seattle, WA June 2-3

, Seattle, WA June 2-3 East Coast Throwdown, Morristown , NJ June 9-10

, NJ June 9-10 CEO 2012 , Orlando, FL June 15-17

, Orlando, FL June 15-17 Midwest Championships 2012, Nashville, TN June 22-24

That’s all for now. We’ve got lots more in store for Evo 2012, which we will be revealing in the months to come. Happy 2012 everyone!