Fantasy Strike is designed to be so "radically accessible" (without sacrificing depth of strategy) that even non-fighting-gamers can enjoy the genre. It's also a way to unite fighting gamers; when two friends each play a different traditional fighting game, it's tough for them to have a good match in either game, but they can both get up to speed in Fantasy Strike in minutes.

“Fantasy Strike is the perfect fighting game for Switch,” said Sirlin. “The Switch is a take-anywhere console, so fighting games would be great on it if not for how notoriously difficult they are to control. Usually, playing a fighting game on a JoyCon would be tough, but Fantasy Strike is designed specifically for that. Detach the JoyCons, give one to a friend, and you can play a deep, strategic fighting game anywhere.”

Currently in Steam Early Access, Fantasy Strike has been rapidly deploying new features, modes, and increasing production values. In their most recent patch, Sirlin Games added professional voice acting and facial animation for all 10 characters as well as a brand new Team Battle mode. In a Team Battle, players choose 3 characters each and play a variety of different matchups, which is great as a tournament format as well as for casual play.

Sirlin Games has also boosted its networking technology over the last few months, combining GGPO (the best-in-class networking tech that allows there to be no input delay) with its own networking tech that now allows for smooth connections even across continents.

Fantasy Strike has been in development for several years. The team has cultivated the game's cell-shaded look and labored over the integration of GGPO networking, the best-in-class form of online play in fighting games.

Fantasy Strike will simultaneously come to PS4 when it exits Steam Early Access ($19.99) and officially launches in 2018.