Watch This Developer Interview With SOULCALIBUR VI Game Producer Motohiro Okubo

Bandai Namco's SoulCalibur VI won't be out for a few more months but the game is definitely going to make fans very happy as it is bringing back most of the series' most iconic characters—as well as a featuring some interesting guest characters from other franchises.

Earlier in March we found out that The Witcher's Geralt of Rivia was, very unexpectedly, joining the SoulCalibur VI roster as the game's first official guest. It is somewhat of a tradition for SoulCalibur games to feature guest characters that have been as varied as Link from The Legend of Zelda all the way to Star Wars' very own Darth Vader.

Now we got some more information—coming from Bandai Namco themselves—in an interview with SoulCalibur VI game producer Motohiro Okubo, who shared details about the game, as well as explaining how Geralt of Rivia even became an idea for a guest character.

For the longest time we didn't quite know when in the timeline was SoulCalibur VI taking place—vaguely knowing that the game wouldn't be a sequel per se but rather a prequel of sorts. According to Mr. Okubo, SoulCalibur VI will take place in between SoulCalibur and SoulCalibur II as the game revisits the origins of the story where it was SoulCalibur vs SoulEdge—which is the name of the very first title in the series.

"When we were developing this game we looked at the whole franchise and we came to the conclusion that the first SoulCalibur was not depicted as well as it could have been. So we added more depth to the story and also added new characters to that original storyline", explained Okubo as he said that he thinks players will really enjoy what they've done with the game.

When asked about The Witcher's Geralt of Rivia becoming a character in SoulCalibur VI, Mr. Okubo mentioned that he's also a producer for the Tekken 7—that featured guest characters from Final Fantasy XV and The King of Fighters, Noctis  and Geese Howard respectively—which made him consider the possibility of having guest characters in the game.

"There is definitely an art to taking a character from a different franchise and dropping them into a different world. So there was definitely a lot of back and forth that occured when implementing Geralt into the game".

Okubo mentions that the team were very specific about wanting Geralt to move exactly like he did in The Witcher so that it was faithful to the series he originated from.

"The mechanics of how they would connect[the movements of his arm, elbow, and wrist] into the next action had to be very accurate. And, although we develop a lot of fighting games, it was refreshing to see a new perspective". Okubo also praises CD Projekt Red(developer of The Witcher games) in how they are always very precise with their games and the way their characters are depicted. "It was very enlightening, and it was a very good experience for us", said Okubo.

SOULCALIBUR VI represents the latest entry in the premier weapons-based, head-to-head fighting series and continues the epic struggle of warriors searching for the legendary Soul Swords. Taking place in the 16th century, revisit the events of the original SOULCALIBUR to uncover hidden truths.