Legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is joining the cast of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves as a playable character in a massive shakeup for the beloved fighting game franchise.
Fighting games are making bold moves lately, and this latest initiative from SNK is raising eyebrows not just within the gaming world, but the sports world, too.
In September 2024, SNK put out a teaser trailer revealing that Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo would be somehow involved in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Most fans thought he might promote it as a celebrity endorsement… but it turns out, he had much more in store.
Cristiano Ronaldo becomes first athlete in a mainline 2D fighting game
On March 25, 2025, it was officially announced that Ronaldo will be joining the cast of fighters in South Town as a playable character with his own special moveset — a huge move for the historic fighting game series and a first for any major fighting game franchise, overall (not including Lebron’s cameo in the now-defunct Multiversus).
Having a professional athlete join a 2D mainline fighting game as a playable character is basically unheard of, but it makes sense that a footballer with as much star power as Ronaldo would be one of the first to do it.
A flashy trailer showed Ronaldo facing off with various characters from the forthcoming game with special soccer-themed moves — including his signature “Siuuu!” chant after winning a round.
The shock reveal took the fighting game world by storm, with one writing on YouTube: “I never thought the phrase: ‘Yeah I main Cristiano Ronaldo in Fatal Fury,’ exists now.”
“This is like seeing Obama being a playable character in BazBlue,” another joked.
Fatal Fury is just the latest big fighting game to have a massive and unexpected crossover lately. For instance, Guilty Gear announced their first-ever guest character in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ Lucy, and Street Fighter 6 got a long-awaited collab with Fatal Fury characters Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui after nearly 20 years since their last big partnership.
It looks like fighting game developers are branching out in a big way as the genre continues to break barriers in what many players are calling its “golden age.”
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