Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has arrived on PC to a difficult reception, with players reporting performance problems after an open beta that had already raised concerns just weeks earlier.
Arc System Works’ Marvel fighter reached 24,498 concurrent players on Steam on launch day. That is a little more than half the 44,303-player peak recorded by the studio’s Dragon Ball FighterZ at launch in 2018. As a Sony title, Tōkon is also available on PlayStation 5, so Steam figures do not represent the entire launch audience.
Even so, over half the day-one players recorded for Dragon Ball FighterZ is a notable comparison. Steam players have also reported technical problems and left low user reviews for the PC version.
High PC demands remain a concern
During the open beta, players described the game as unexpectedly demanding on PC. Some speculated that the required PlayStation Network sign-in might be contributing to the load by starting additional background services. Testing of the beta suggested, however, that the game itself was placing substantial demands on system resources.
One reported test saw Tōkon use more than 95 per cent of the processor and, at times, about 5,000MB of physical memory. Six separate PlayStation PC SDK Runtime processes also launched with the game, although they were reported to have very little effect on CPU or memory usage.
The full release has not eliminated those concerns in the short period since the beta. Linux players appear to be experiencing particularly severe difficulties, while some Windows players have also described unstable performance and frame-rate problems.
Players call for a PC delay
One Steam review argued that the PC edition should have been postponed until its optimisation problems were resolved. The reviewer said Tekken and Street Fighter 6 ran at 60 frames per second or higher on Ultra settings, while Tōkon struggled despite being enjoyable enough to recommend once its technical state improves.
For arcade fans comparing fighting-game hardware and platforms, the launch is a reminder that PC requirements and software support matter alongside the game itself. RETROCADE’s arcade news coverage follows developments across the wider fighting-game scene, while an arcade machine buying guide can help when weighing dedicated hardware against a home PC setup.
Developer investigating reports
Arc System Works has acknowledged that some PC players are experiencing performance issues and said the team is investigating. Its message thanked players for joining the launch and asked them to continue submitting feedback, but did not identify specific problems or announce a patch timetable. The developer’s put out a statement confirms that investigation is under way.
Arc System Works thanked players for the strong launch-day response, acknowledged PC performance reports, and said the team was actively investigating the feedback.
Reports are not universally negative: some PC players say they have experienced no performance trouble. Results may therefore vary by system and configuration. On PlayStation 5, extended launch-day play of roughly eight hours was reported to be free of major performance problems, apart from occasional online lag.
Until the investigation produces clearer answers or a hotfix, PC buyers may want to assess the current reports carefully. Players interested in dedicated fighting-game setups can also browse RETROCADE’s arcade machines and arcade parts ranges.
Leave a Reply