With rollback netcode set as the industry standard for modern fighting games, Dragon Ball FighterZ was struggling to keep players invested until the developers could implement it themselves. Now, more than a year after the initial announcement, DBFZ’s rollback beta is almost everything the community was hoping for.
After a surprise announcement on Nov. 26, the server test for DBFZ’s rollback netcode update went live on Steam today, allowing PC players to opt-in and try out what will eventually be the base game’s improved online experience. Less than a day in, the beta test helped DBFZ reach its highest player count since February 2022 when the final DLC fighter, Android 21 (Lab Coat,) was added to the game—peaking at 4,305 users, according to Steam Charts.
Not everyone has had a chance to try out the improved online experience, and one of the biggest DBFZ content creators, Lythero, actually released his latest big video around the game right after the announcement just to enhance the bit. But for those who have played the beta, the hype is real and it looks like we might see the game catch a second wind.
“Dragon Ball FighterZ with rollback is a transcending experience,” FGC figurehead Maximilian Dood said. “After years of never touching the game, returning to something you wanted to like so much…but caused so much frustration before is crazy. Game is an absolute wild joy to play now.”
It hasn’t all been great, however, as several bugs have been impacting the player experience with issues like audio desyncing during a match, character icons glitching out and showing the Sparking animation, and various visual oddities. The latter includes a very Dragon Ball-relevant “Down” screen playing even when your opponent’s character has not been knocked out.
Even with the bugs, the community is having a blast with this improved online experience for such an incredible game. With a test like this running through Dec. 11, the developers should get plenty of data to work on finalizing the product for an official patch—which will hopefully drop in early 2024 around the DBFZ World Tour Finals in January. Just keep in mind that rollback is only being added for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC versions of the game, not last-gen consoles or the Nintendo Switch.
