Highlights

  • New Dragon Ball FighterZ update with rollback netcode and new versions has game-breaking glitches.
  • Bandai Namco is rumored to have underfunded Arc System Works, causing issues in development.
  • Creeps suggests Bandai Namco took over the update internally, leading to glitches and lower visual fidelity.

A recent rumor has claimed that Dragon Ball FighterZ developer Arc System Works and its publisher, Bandai Namco, have supposedly split ties. The latest update for Dragon Ball FighterZ was dropped near the end of February, adding rollback netcode to improve its online environment, as well as new PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions. While these features were things fans had waited years for, gameplay clips show that the new update has broken the game in various ways.

Some of these Dragon Ball FighterZ clips were posted online, showing game-breaking glitches, such as characters staying in place while animations occurred on-screen or bizarre character cloning visual bugs during a match. The reactions from the community range from frustration at the glitches or fascination with showing them off. Rumors suggest that the buggy nature of this update is due to Bandai Namco taking over development from Arc System Works after the latter cut ties with the other.

A screenshot from Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn featuring Gogeta.
Related
Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Hints at Non-Canon Content

A recent magazine scan suggests that Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero could include content from the non-canon Dragon Ball Z theatrical films.

This rumor was posted by Creeps, a modder and enthusiast of Dragon Ball video games on Twitter. According to them, they heard that due to Bandai Namco cutting corners with the development of games like Xenoverse 2, Kakarot, and FighterZ, the business relationships between Bandai Namco and Arc System Works were soured. The main crux of this corner-cutting, according to Creeps, was Bandai Namco underfunding FighterZ and its DLC, among "other reasons."

Bandai Namco Supposedly Underfunded Dragon Ball FighterZ

While Creeps couldn't get into the full details of these reasons due to "shaky legality," they claim that Bandai Namco wanted to replicate the same content model with FighterZ as it did with Xenoverse 2 and Kakarot's post-launch DLC. Arc System Works supposedly refused due to Bandai Namco being difficult to work with on the game developer end. As a result, Dragon Ball FighterZ's game-breaking glitches and lower visual fidelity were due to either Bandai Namco taking over the update's development internally, or it was outsourced to a third party, with no involvement from Arc System Works. While there is some merit behind this possibility, fans should still take this rumor with a grain of salt.

Creeps hopes that the upcoming Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero will be given the time and care needed, and no corners will be cut in order to make the game the best it could be and stand up to its predecessors. Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is a 3D arena fighter visually inspired by FighterZ, having a similar sleek anime-inspired art style. Sparking Zero is the mainline fourth title in the Budokai Tenkaichi series, using its original Sparking moniker, and is highly anticipated by fans.