As the current Producer of Guilty Gear -Strive- at Arc System Works, Ken Miyauchi has a deep love for the fighting game community.
We recently spoke with Ken Miyauchi at Anime Expo 2026 about Guilty Gear -Strive-, his love for the FGC, and even his current main – learn more with our interview…
Ken Miyauchi Anime Expo 2026 Interview – Guilty Gear -Strive- Producer Talks FGC & More
Gamers Heroes
I really appreciate the time today!
First things first: Congrats on Robo-Ky being added to Guilty Gear -Strive-!
That’s a great pick – a fan-favorite!
How do you determine which characters to add each season of Guilty Gear -Strive-?
Ken Miyauchi
We decide that before we start developing the cast, thinking about what type of characters to add each Season Pass.
For instance, we balanced out the characters in the Season Pass One package by releasing Bridget and Sin in Season Pass Two.
There’s a philosophy when it comes to balancing the characters.
Sometimes it could be a character that’s never been a playable character in past Guilty Gear entries. However, we also consider characters that were playable in the past, but didn’t make into GUILTY GEAR Xrd, so we’re also balancing that out.
Jam made her return in Xrd, and she also returned to Guilty Gear -Strive-!
However, while Robo-Ky didn’t make it into Xrd, he finally returned as a playable character in -Strive-.
We also set out to balance each character archetype, taking their battle style into consideration.
We don’t want the whole cast to be just long-range characters, or those that only do close-combat rushdowns. We want that balance to be part of the whole package!
Gamers Heroes
On that same note, when it comes to events like Evo or even Anime Expo, what are some of your favorite community stories when it comes to Guilty Gear?
Ken Miyauchi
I have a lot of favorite stories!
A number of people have met others because of Guilty Gear – and are still friends after all this time.
Guilty Gear has been around for 28 years! I see a lot of people that have been engaged in the community for a long time, meeting others, making best friends – or even marrying each other because of Guilty Gear!
We are very moved!
We truly think the fighting game community – and the game itself – is a tool that bonds people together. Especially since it is a fighting game with two-player interactions!
Whenever we hear those stories, we are very happy.
Gamers Heroes
Absolutely!
I’ve met a lot of friends through the fighting game community, going to arcades and playing a number of Arc System Works titles online.
I will say a lot of people have made Guilty Gear -Strive- their first fighting game; I was there since the PlayStation 1 days for the original Guilty Gear, and I even imported Guilty Gear X for the SEGA Dreamcast!
However, a lot of people are making Guilty Gear -Strive- their first fighting game, and they absolutely love it – there are over four million users now!
How do you feel about the success and how this entry has served as an entryway into the FGC?
Ken Miyauchi
We are very grateful!
When it comes to Guilty Gear -Strive-, our first goal was to make new starting point for Guilty Gear.
When we started GUILTY GEAR Xrd, it carried things over from GUILTY GEAR XX ACCENT CORE PLUS R – but it was a little hard for newcomers to get into.
We wanted to create the right starting point with Guilty Gear -Strive- in the Guilty Gear series.
It’s been a great success – we achieved over four million players worldwide. That’s record-breaking among all the Arc System Works titles that we’ve published!
That means we are also getting a lot of new players who have never tried the Guilty Gear series before.
I see on social media and other spots that players try -Strive- and get interested in other entries like Xrd or past series.
I’m really, really happy to hear about that!
Gamers Heroes
Diving a bit deeper, one of the things I like about -Strive- is that it balances depth and accessibility.
You’ve got different characters for different types, as you mentioned.
There are the grapplers, the zoners, and others.
How have you been able to strike that balance over its different Seasons?
Ken Miyauchi
Balancing is a hard task we’ll always run into.
As time has passed, people have grown up together with the game, creating their own skills and tactics.
Sometimes they figure out something that development side never thought about!
From a developer’s perspective, we don’t want to restrict how players play the game. They should have their own freedom if they find something themselves – I think that should be kept as-is.
In terms of balancing, it’s hard to make decisions because of one element – because that could break the rest of the cast. Trying to balance that out – but not really keeping the form of freedom – is always something that we keep in mind.
Players often share what they researched and figured out online, getting good at the game very quickly.
In the arcade era, we didn’t frequently update games. However, if we don’t do that these days, people start to get bored and desire new content.
We want to update the game – but if things people just learned are gone it can be kind of sad, right?
It can be challenging for us, but keeping the game balanced and fresh is something we will continue to do!
Gamers Heroes
That makes perfect sense. You want to respect the player and have them play their way.
Then, when a meta emerges, people slowly learn new things – but things move at a rapid pace these days.
It’s a delicate balance, but I know you’ve accomplished it with -Strive-!
Changing gears a little bit, I saw you recently launched the Evo Humble Bundle – congrats on raising over $45K! [now $107K as of writing]
I had all the games in the collection, so I bought it for a friend – we’re going to play some Melty Blood when I get home!
What was your favorite part working with Humble and the Raiden Science Foundation on this bundle?
Ken Miyauchi
Thank you to everyone!
I saw a lot of people bought the Humble Bundle. Even if they already owned Guilty Gear -Strive-, they still purchased this bundle.
For me, it’s a really good opportunity for us to do the Humble Bundle sales to support something else with video games!
I’m very happy!
Gamers Heroes
I’m very happy too!
Talking the fighting game community, I know Evo wrapped not too long ago.
What do you personally hope to see in the fighting game community next year, whether with Guilty Gear or the greater community as a whole?
Are you looking for more people to enter the fray, more hype moments like Evo Moment #37, or somebody to be the best Sol Badguy player?
What do you personally hope to see?
Ken Miyauchi
I hope to see the fighting game community come together more!
Nowadays, people play a number of different games. However, back in the day, people would stick with one game and keep playing it.
It is now easier than ever for players to check out and play our games. It is also much easier to find a community around other fighting games.
BlazBlue Centralfiction is getting a new update – it’s a good time to go back to old titles and bring back those communities back.
That’s very good to see!
I’m really expecting – not just in the next year – to see the fighting game community as a whole celebrate new fighting games as well as old ones.
Gamers Heroes
Absolutely! Ending on a light note…
Who is your current Guilty Gear -Strive- main?
I’m sure it’s constantly changing, but who are you currently playing as the most?
Ken Miyauchi
I’m maining Jam right now!
Gamers Heroes
Nice – that’s a good pick!
Ken Miyauchi
Yeah!
There was a developer challenge session at Evo and I played against a couple of people. I really enjoy playing Jam nowadays.
I still haven’t focused too much on Robo-Ky yet, but he could very well be my next pick.
Gamers Heroes
I look forward to checking out Robo-Ky myself when I get home!
Thank you so much – pleasure is all mine!
Ken Miyauchi
Thank you!
Guilty Gear -Strive- is now available for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam – learn more via its official website.
Be sure to also check out our review of Guilty Gear -Strive- (90/100!):
“Guilty Gear -Strive- sets a new gold standard for fighting games.
Everything from the netcode to the presentation has been polished to a shiny sheen, and its incredibly high skill ceiling will keep players coming back for years to come.”
For those feeling social, be sure to follow Arc System Works via their official Facebook, Twitter/X, Bluesky, Instagram, Twitch, and YouTube social media channels.
Be sure to also follow Ken Miyauchi via his official Twitter/X social media channel!
Thank you to PR for arranging this Anime Expo 2026 interview, and Ken Miyauchi for his time!
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