Recently, Guilty Gear Strive has had a bit of a news drought since January. At Frosty Faustings XII (January 17th and 18th), Faust was revealed as a playable character. That’s all great and everything, but Final Round 2020, originally scheduled for March 20th-22nd, was supposed to be the site of the next character showcase. Arc System Works promptly pulled the event from Arc World Tour 2020 in mid-February and then the entire event was canceled in the weeks that followed, due to ongoing health concerns with COVID-19.
Light at the End of the Tunnel for STRIVE
However, Guilty Gear fans were greatly rewarded with their patience in light of the two-month-long news slump. Tonight, Arc System Works America revealed on Twitter that the upcoming title would have rollback netcode, a feature that fans have been asking to be in Guilty Gear since the game’s development announcement.
For context, Arc System Works has used delay-based netcode in their fighting games since BlazBlue: Continuum Shift in 2009. The way delay-based netcode works is that it synchronizes the two players and dynamically adjusts how much input lag there is based on the condition of the connection.
Seeing Guilty Gear: Strive make a shift to rollback netcode, the same type of netcode that games like Mortal Kombat X, Killer Instinct and Skullgirls have used, is a pretty monumental milestone for the series. The series’s consistent usage of delay-based netcode made online matches range from either barely playable to a rather huge headache. This was especially frustrating when players were fighting opponents on the other side of the country or across the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans.
But Wait! Closed Beta Information!
In addition to the surprising reveal of rollback netcode, Arc System Works has also revealed that the upcoming fighter also has a closed beta. Registration is open now, and players that are accepted will receive their beta codes by April 12th. To apply for the Closed Beta, be sure to visit their application site here.
What do you think about the rollback netcode announcement for GUILTY GEAR: STRIVE? Do you plan to buy the game? Are you going to try to get into the closed beta? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.