After the second open beta late last month, the fighting game community has been hungry for more Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Now, SNK has revealed the fighter usage just a week ahead of the game’s launch, and there are clear favourites.
City of the Wolves is the next fighting game in the Fatal Fury series after over 26 years of waiting. The roster features a blend of iconic characters and newcomers, and nine of them were available to try out during the second open beta.
Like many fighting games in recent years, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will feature two different control options: Arcade for the classic fighting game players and Smart Style for modern, simplified controls that help new players ease into the game. SNK broke down the fighter usage by the two control modes.
Most Played Fighters in the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Beta
A look at the combined Arcade and Smart Style control players had Tizoc at the top. His pro wrestling style and persona has been a bit hit with players, who likely wanted to check out his new moves in the beta. The 15.4% usage rate is also probably due to him being the only new fighter available on the second beta’s roster.
The second-most-played character was Terry Bogard with 14.4%, arguably the most recognisable Fatal Fury fighter ever. He was followed by Rock at 14.3%.
The fourth most-played fighter for combined control was Preecha, a new character that was playable in the first open beta. Her colourful personality and unique fighting style has won over the FGC.
When it came to characters that got no love during the second open beta, Kain and B. Jenet found themselves at the bottom with 7.4% and 6.5%, respectively.
There are a few changes when you switch between just Arcade Style and Smart Style character picks. For Arcade Style, Tizoc was still on top, but Terry and Rock were tied. For players trying out Smart Style, Terry was the top pick, likely due to his more straightforward moveset and recognisable playstyle.
When Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves releases, there will be 17 fighters on the roster, including newcomers like Cristiano Ronaldo. This will most definitely shake up the character usage, especially when it comes to competitive players.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will be released on April 24th, 2025. Its first major competitive appearance will be at Evo 2025 in August. This will determine the meta going forward, especially for Arcade Style users.
However, there was recently a showcase at Evo Japan 2025, which featured top fighting game players having a casual tournament. The entire roster was available and the pros played almost every character. Terry and Salvatore showed up the most as the tournament reached its end, but it’s still too early to know if these characters will be competitively viable when real stakes are on the line.
