Arc System Works has announced a Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact delay, but it's not for the usual "adding extra polish" reasons; rather, it's for something about which the fighting game community will doubtless be pleased.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Arc System Works says Nen x Impact has been delayed beyond 2024, and that it will now release sometime in 2025, with no more specific release date forthcoming right now.
The delay has been put into effect so that the publisher, as well as developer Eighting, can implement rollback netcode into the game. It's a feature that has appeared in other Arc System Works games, so its inclusion here makes sense as well.
In case you're unfamiliar, rollback netcode is essentially a way by which developers minimize lag and bad connections in online fighting games.
I won't go into the technicalities here, but suffice it to say that fighting games with rollback netcode are generally better-appreciated by their communities than those without. There's a good reason the Super Smash Bros community wanted to work on a rollback mod for the game.
Fighting games that have embraced rollback netcode include Dragon Ball FighterZ, Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, all of which were developed or co-developed by Arc System Works itself.
Other rollback netcode converts that aren't Arc System Works games include Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8. It's clear, then, that rollback netcode is a big deal for the fighting game community.
Hunter x Hunter Nen x Impact is, according to Arc System Works, the first "full-fledged" fighting game to be based on the popular anime and manga Hunter x Hunter.
It's a three-on-three fighter in which iconic characters from Hunter x Hunter duke it out with one another, and it'll be available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch sometime next year. Stay tuned for more.
