WORK IN PROGRESS
WORK IN PROGRESS
as of AUGUST 22, 2023
All characters are now playabe on the official Tabletop Simulator module! FYI: These characters are amazingly designed.
Check out the Kickstarter project here!
Guilty Gear -Strive- Season 2 began being released some time after the board game entered production, so unfortunately characters from Season 2 and on are not present in the board game (Bridget, Sin, Bedman? and Asuka).
Regarding their future inclusion, Level 99 Games stated;
Marco: "Season 2, Season 3, not included 'YET'. We'll have to see whether or not the stars align on that end. But yes, I'd like to have Brisket in the game as well, but you have to understand this game was made quite a while ago."
Brad: "We've been [developing the board game] for about 2 years now..."
Marco: "So Brisket wasn't even in the video game when we were making this."
In the Level 99 Games Discord, Brad made a few statements;
OOPMan: "S2 and S3 expansions one day, maybe?"
Brad: "I really want to. I think we can do more boxes if this one is a big hit"
Brad: "We all really wanted [Bridget] in this box too. 😭"
Brad: "Unfortunately, Arc tells us nothing D:"
Sparrowsheart: Are there plans to follow the updates for Strive's DLC characters, or to add in older characters?
Brad: "I want to, but we can't make plans until the base Strive board game proves itself to ASW."
And finally, in this BGG article about the roster, Brad states;
Brad:"However, if the core game does well, we would really like to produce more content in the future."
The standees for seasons 5 and 6 are only available in the $500 Ultimate pledge, which also includes all the characters. Many backers want the standees to be an addon. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen.
In the Level 99 Games Discord, Brad stated;
Moofen:"Any chance you'll change your minds on the acrylic standees being exclusive to the ultimate edition?"
Brad: "Standees are a weirdly specific product, in that a very small number of people want them very badly."
Brad: "Playmats are similar, but they're easier to make."
Brad: "The standees cost about 15x what the playmats cost to make."
He mentions how it's challenging for logistics to ship standees on their own, then concludes with;
Brad: "Anyway, I don't want to get too much into the specifics of it. If you're a die hard fan and you want to get the standees, and you've bought everything else, we'll take care of you somehow. But we aren't ready to do these kind of special exceptions en masse. I'm not in the business of manufacturing standees. 😛 I make board games."
As a professional in promotional acrylic merchandise, I would estimate an addon of the season 5 and 6 standees alone would be around $180, not including shipping. This is using my company's pricing for that product, and assuming Level 99 would use an average markup.
Per the FAQ, there is no special plan for a retail release of the game, and prospective retailers must inquire with Level 99 Games if they want to stock the game.
Guilty Gear -The Board Game- is currently available only in one single, large box, which contains all characters and extras, as applicable. However, Brad has alluded to breaking it up into smaller 4-character boxes for a wide retail release in the future.
Brad: Once the project is complete, we're going to try and find the critical mass to do smaller and more traditional boxes (like the past Exceed seasons) that can retail for around $30-$35 and make it to normal stores.
PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT
Arc System Works tweeted this on their official account;
We're excited to announce that @Level99Games will be a special guest at our booth, stop by each day to see what they will be showcasing for the Guilty Gear Strive community!
It should be pretty obvious at this point we're getting Guilty Gear Strive. There is still uncertainty over the inclusion of Guilty Gear Strive's DLC season 2 characters Bridget, Bedman?, Sin and Asuka, but given Bald Eagle was in development at least 8 months before DLC season 2 began, it seems unlikely.
Regarding DLC season 2 characters inclusion, it is said in the Tao Te Ching;
Lao Tzu: Hope is as hollow as fear. What does this mean?
Lao Tzu: Whether you go up the ladder or down it, your position is shaky. When you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance.
He has not responded for further comment. Oh, season 7 also had internal playtesting featuring many trusted, former community playtesters involved in previous seasons.
Level 99 Games is a guest at EVO, the world's premier fighting game tournament convention, at Arc System Work's booth. Alongside running demos for Exceed, Brad stated they will be announcing their new project, in collaboration with Arc System Works.
Brad revealed that demos of this new project will be given out for free at the booth and will be available for free on the official website (shipping not included), starting 10am on Friday, August 4th.
On the Breakfast Club Exceed server, former Exceed developer D (Tirankin) stated;
Tirankin: "Folks should keep their eyes and ears open on August 4th"
Tirankin: "Just if you happen to be watching things like fighting game tournamnets or Vox Media news outlets, then"
Tirankin: "I'm pretty sure that's all I currently have permission to say"
This heavily suggests not only is Tirankin involved in the some part of Season 7 behind the scenes, but that the project being announced at EVO will indeed be Exceed, as this was posted to an Exceed-specific fan server.
During the Q&A section of the June 26th Level Up Live, youtube user Jonathan Is Champ asked "What about season 7 of exceed??" Brad and Marco of Level 99 Games responded;
Marco: "Chat is asking 'What about Season 7 of Exceed?' Just you wait, that's the answer to that one! Just you wait!"
Brad: "We're going to announce news about Exceed in the near future. So wait up, you won't be disappointed."
The company's previous statement was that Season 7 would be announced following Dead By Daylight finishing fulfillment. In the May 30th Level Up Live[link?], Brad said he has a prototype in-hand for their "next project", which is debuting on Kickstarter in August. Some speculation believes this will be Season 7.
As far as IP speculation, the leading assumption is Guilty Gear -Strive-, which is developed by Arc System Works, the creators of BlazBlue and publishers of both BlazBlue and Under Night In-Birth. The project name for Season 7 is Bald Eagle, a possible reference to the bald eagle shown flying before every match of Guilty Gear -Strive-. It may also reference the game's themes of personal freedom and the prominence of the United States in the game's main story.
Besides Guilty Gear, further bald eagle related guesses have included G.I. Joe and My Hero Academia - the latter of which is owned by Jasco, who Level 99 Games have worked with in the past. Brad has expressed reluctance on working with them again after a transfer of ownership, however.[source?]