Virtua Fighter Crossroads Producer Says the Game Was Inspired by HBO’s Watchmen Series
Riichiro Yamada, producer of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Virtua Fighter Crossroads, has revealed an unconventional source of inspiration for the long-awaited revival of the classic fighting game franchise. In an interview with GamerBraves, Yamada cited HBO’s Watchmen series as his “biggest inspiration” for the project—not for its narrative content, but rather for how the superhero adaptation successfully revived a decades-old property in the modern entertainment landscape.
Yamada explained the parallel between the two projects. Virtua Fighter, which boasts an extensive history with established lore and worldbuilding, has remained dormant for over two decades despite its rich foundation. Similarly, Watchmen was a 33-year-old American comic book series that had faded from mainstream consciousness before HBO brought it back to relevance. Yamada drew inspiration from how Watchmen managed this cultural resurrection, viewing it as a model for how to reintroduce Virtua Fighter to contemporary audiences.
This creative philosophy suggests that Virtua Fighter Crossroads will focus on leveraging the franchise’s existing lore and settings that have accumulated over its long history, rather than completely reimagining the series. The producer’s admiration for how Watchmen balanced respect for source material while updating it for modern audiences indicates a similar approach may be taken for the fighting game’s return to mainstream attention.