The debut reveal for Jump Force caught the online anime and fighting community by complete surprise but the last second stinger of Light and Ryuk sent many over the edge. Shortly thereafter, it was disappointingly revealed that the Death Note pair were not actually playable characters in the game.
Speaking to Game Informer, Jump Force producer Koji Nakajima explained why.
"There are a few things we consider. We want to choose characters that will be recognizable to everyone in the world, both in Japan and outside. We also consider how well-suited the character is to fighting, and whether they would be getting involved in fights in their series. Right, not everyone is suited to fighting, but might have a part in the story. The question of how all these universes came to ours will involve characters who aren't necessarily selectable characters who are used to hitting each other."
In short, if the character doesn't come from a battle shonen series, don't expect to actually see them fight.
Jump Force will be released as part of the 50th Anniversary of Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, the premiere manga magazine and home of popular shonen series like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece and more. Jump Force is slated for release in 2019.