Today marks the release of Samurai Shodown, the next revival of a classic SNK fighting game franchise following 2016's The King of Fighter XIV. To celebrate, SNK put out a stylish launch trailer, which you can check out below, and detailed what exactly players can expect from the Season Pass and Samurai Shodown's 2019 esports presence.

In case you did not know, the Season Pass of Samurai Shodown includes four characters and is actually free for anyone who decides to purchase the game for PS4 and Xbox One between today and June 30. All of the Season Pass characters are returning from previous Samurai Shodown games. First, fan favorite Rimururu who first appeared in Samurai Shodown III will be coming to the game. Then the reborn yūrei Basara from Samurai Shodown III will be added, as will Kazuki Kazama from Samurai Shodown IV and Wan-Fu, a character that debuted in the first Samurai Shodown game. Rimururu releases in August 2019, Basara comes out in October 2019, Kazuki Kazama hits the game in December 2019, and Wan-Fu wraps things up in February 2020. Check out the art showcasing these characters' new looks below:

On the esports side of things, Samurai Shodown will be at EVO this August as was revealed back in February. SNK is hoping that their renewed esports presence will show that they are dedicated to supporting the Samurai Shodown franchise, a sentiment reflected by Lead Producer Yasuyuki Oda. "We have been overwhelmed by the positivity of our fans over the past several months and would like to thank each and every one of them for making the return of the franchise come to fruition. Further to today’s launch on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, we’re now looking forward to being part of the Evolution Championship series this August and we could not be happier to be part of one the biggest competitive fighting game events in the world. Please expect to hear more from us in the coming months regarding our future plans for esports and Samurai Shodown."

Hopefully, we won't have to wait as long for the next entry in this unique fighting game series. Samurai Shodown is available now on PS4 and Xbox One, and is available on Amazon for those interested. PC and Nintendo Switch versions of the game are also in the works over at SNK and Athlon Games, but they won't be arriving until Q4 2019.