While Arc System Works has developed notable games such as Dragon Ball FighterZ, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and more, the studio’s bread and butter has always been the Guilty Gear franchise. During this year’s Arc World Tour Finals, MP1st had the chance to interview the studio about Guilty Gear Strive.

Taking part in the interview is Junior Ferreira (Esports Manager at Arc System Works), and Ken Miyauchi (Producer for Guilty Gear -Strive-). We asked about Season 3, dead characters returning to the roster, and more.

MP1st: Tell us about the idea behind the player intros. Is this something you think will stick around for future events?

Junior Ferreira: The player intros were one of my favorite aspects of the Arc World Tour Finals! When I originally conceptualized the idea, I knew that I wanted to make these players live out their best anime protagonist dreams and with the amazing talent that our production team brought to the table, we were able to make those dreams a reality. There was definitely a lot of back and forth regarding the look and feel of the intros, but it was ultimately decided that we wanted to at the very least have our players cosplay in their winning character. This was something that I felt was really important to bring to the table because of the dedication that the players put into practicing with those characters; which ultimately led to them winning and being invited to the finals. The overall reception around the player intros was immense and I feel like that in and of itself cements the need for us to continue to do this in future events. My goal was to make these players feel like stars, and I feel like we were able to deliver on that goal so I’m excited to see what we can do here for Arc World Tour 2023!

MP1st: Season 3 is a much-welcomed surprise, though with the news of development just starting (?) we suppose we won’t hear much about it for a while. What is the likelihood we see or hear anything about it later this year?

Ken Miyauchi: I also want to talk a lot about our Season 3 plan, but I can only say that we are planning to make Season 3 to have more surprising contents than Season 2.

MP1st: Does the team have a good idea of who they want to include next season? What kind of decision process goes into that? Is it all studio-driven, community requests, or a mix of both?

Ken Miyauchi: It is a mix of both. We also think about the balance of the character types in a season. For example, we don’t want all the characters in a season to be zoner or technical characters.

MP1st: Bedman? was a nice surprise that no one expected. To clear the air, are we actually playing as a bed?

Ken Miyauchi: Yes, you are actually playing as a bed. The girl is Delilah, Bedman’s sister. Bedman is gone in the previous Guilty Gear Xrd story. Uncertainty but the bed seems like it has Bedman’s spirit or some sort. That is why it is called “Bedman?”

• Related Reading: Arc System Works Thanks Fans for Sticking With Them for 35 Years; Would Like to Explore Other Gaming Genres

MP1st: What can you tell us about this iteration of Bedman when it comes to playstyle? Should fans expect him? To play similarly as he did in past games, or will there be some added twists with Delilah being added to the mix?

Ken Miyauchi: His play will be different compared to Bedman in Xrd, but still has similar unique air mobility. I think if you know the past Bedman, you will find some similarity to Bedman?’s move. That is another reason why we made a small change to the character name to express this is a different character.  Delilah does not directly interact in a battle but she follows around Bedman? and has unique animations when she is close to Bedman? which actually had many technical efforts to make it visually work.

MP1st: We suppose the community is no stranger to seeing “dead” characters revived in some capacity. Bedman probably won’t be the last?

Ken Miyauchi: Currently, all the characters are following the storyline, that is why the bed looks visually broken and it is dragging its arm since it broke during the Another Story from the Season Pass 1 additional content. If there are any “dead” character returnings, then we will probably prepare a convincing story to fit into the Strive timeline.

MP1st: How important was community feedback and input during the development of Guilty Gear Strive, and in what ways did it influence the final product?

Ken Miyauchi: It is very important for us to hear the community feedback and we really appreciate how the community is reaching out to us. The beta feedback especially helped the entire development team to understand the importance of the rollback netcode. I cannot tell much detail but we have a long list of update ideas to reflect the community feedback into the game. We are currently working on a big one or ones that are urgent first. We also really appreciate positive feedback from the community. Our team is very motivated by them and we would like to continue seeing the positive feedback through the updates.

MP1st: With Strive’s final Season 2 character dropping in May. Looking back at the roster of characters, and all its DLC, including Bedman? and the unannounced one, who would you say is your favorite character to play, and why?

Ken Miyauchi: I personally like a character who has strong okizeme or open up options. I actually was a player who likes to spend a lot of time in training mode and practicing hard execution cool combos that are not viable in real matches. Somewhat related to this background, my favorite characters to play at the moment are Leo and Bridget. Recently, I am also interested in Bedman? because I like the visual and animation of this character. I cannot explain the reason here yet but I am also looking very into the next unannounced one.

MP1st: Speaking of the unannounced character. We don’t expect you to confirm who it is (we have our suspicions), BUT are there any additional hints/teases you could provide? Is the community looking in the right direction?

Ken Miyauchi: I also want to talk about this character but please wait for the next announcement. We are looking forward to how everyone reacts when it is announced.

MP1st: Can you share any interesting or unexpected challenges that the development team faced while creating Guilty Gear Strive, DNF Duel, and/or all supporting content? (*Also listed in below section for DNF Duel and others portion)

Ken Miyauchi: Everything about creating Guilty Gear -Strive- are unexpected challenges, and it is still continuing.

You can check out our review of Guilty Gear Strive right here. Once more info regarding Season 3 is know, we’ll be sure to let our readers know.