Guilty Gear Strive developer Arc System Works has commented on the possibility of creating a fighting game focused on the beloved anime and manga property, One Piece. Arc System Works has become one of the most acclaimed studios in recent years, with 2018's Dragon Ball FighterZ and 2021's Guilty Gear Strive helping to cement it as one of the best fighting game development studios. So much so that there are a lot of dream games fans would like to see the studio tackle with its sleek and evocative anime art style, such as a One Piece game.
The One Piece anime series has received plenty of video game adaptations since the beginning of the 2000s, all of them published by Bandai Namco. The most recent console game based on the franchise was One Piece Odyssey, a JRPG that released earlier this year. In terms of fighting games, the last one would be Spike Chunsoft's One Piece: Burning Blood, released in 2016. When asked about the possibility of having Arc System Works tackle a project based on the beloved IP, the company's CEO, Minoru Kidooka, commented how it's not entirely out of the question.
This answer came from an interview between him and IGN, with one of the questions being in regard to Kidooka's comment at last year's EVO, where he stated that the company wanted to pursue more IP opportunities. IGN noted that one of these "dream games" that fans hoped to see would be with One Piece. Kidooka stated that he did want to work with other companies and create a fun fighting game, but notes he can't state whether it's in the cards. However, he notes that it's not outside the realm of possibility.
Part of this comes down to how Arc System Works' fighting games are made by a relatively small studio. Kidooka states that since Arc System Works only has 200 full time employees, it has a limited amount of resources and talent that can be put towards releases. DNF Duel was possible through working with Eighting, and Guilty Gear Strive also wasn't entirely made in-house and required outside collaborations to be done. As a result, the studio can't just take on any kind of project that just slides its way.
In terms of currently supported games, Guilty Gear Strive is on its second season, with its third DLC character, Bedman, being released on April 6th. A fourth character will arrive in May, with a third season also confirmed to be in the works. One Piece fans on the other hand will just need to wait and see if the studio will ever tackle a game based on the long-running series.
Source: IGN