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Guilty Gear Strive's rollback netcode is winning over FGC pros ahead of its open beta

Several high-profile voices of the fighting game community have shared positive experiences in early testing of Guilty Gear Strive's new rollback netcode.

TJ Denzer

February 16, 2021 12:47 PM

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One of the most important new features of Guilty Gear Strive’s upcoming open beta is the fact that Arc System Works has finally implemented the improved rollback netcode it promised for the launch of the game. In a time when the possibility of physical events are still tremendously foggy, good netcode has become arguably more important than ever before for a game like GG Strive. Thankfully, with some folks having received early access to the beta, not only is the rollback netcode definitely in play, but apparently it’s running quite impressively according to some of the fighting game community’s most notable pros and personalities.

It was on February 8, 2021 that Arc System Works revealed that the upcoming Guilty Gear Strive open beta would feature the first public testing of its rollback netcode system. This marks a major shift from the previous delay-based netcode which Arc has been relying on for quite a few games now. It won’t be long before the public sees for itself what this new online system can do, but select pros and personalities of the fighting game community also received early access, and the response has been highly promising to say the least.

Going to sleep so I can work in the morning and then play more strive later....

Overall game feels amazing and NETCODE is so good!!!

I was able to play against people from Japan and Korea with no LAG.

GGs to everyone and Potemkin needs Damage BUFF

— Justin Wong (@JWonggg) February 16, 2021

Fighting game legend Justin Wong, CEO founder and lead Alex Jebailey, Multi-game champion Dominique “SonicFox” McLean, and ANIMEILLUMINATI streamer and Guilty Gear veteran Andrew "Jiyuna" Fidelis had plenty to share about the rollback netcode matches they played in early access of the game, much of it either positive or outright blown away. Jebailey in particular reported having matches with Jiyuna in Japan and a rep from Bandai Namco in Sweden, claiming near offline play experience in both cases. There’s even a side-by-side comparison of Jiyuna vs. East Coast Throwdown organizer and FGC streamer Joe "LI Joe" Ciaramelli with perspectives of both players showing how well the game plays even in match running from Japan to the US East Coast.

How is the #ggstrive beta Rollback Netcode? Match #1@jiyunaJP (Japan) vs @thisislijoe (East Coast, USA)

160-170 MS/Rollback Frames: 4

You be the judge. pic.twitter.com/1InUVpZPkL

— Kevin @ NorCal (@thaGaGaGuy) February 16, 2021

PlayStation 4 and 5 digital pre-order players will get to see for themselves what Guilty Gear Strive’s netcode can do first-hand soon enough, but these early reports are promising to say the least. There are no lack of voices in the FGC that would be the first to tell fans if netplay was looking shaky, but to hear and see that it’s allowing matches worldwide to play out on a level never-before-seen in the Guilty Gear franchise is pretty above and beyond the mere inclusion of the mechanic.

It’s looking like Arc System Works’ delay to 2021 is paying off well for Guilty Gear Strive. With the game’s open beta opening up to players on February 18, 2021, be sure you have the game pre-ordered digitally if you want to feel GG Strive's new rollback netcode out for yourself and stay tuned to Shacknews for more coverage and content from the game throughout this week.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.