Sparking! Zero Maps Out Its Road to 2027: More Modes, Fighters and a Crossplay Beta

Two years after launch, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has no intention of powering down. As reported by Vandal, Bandai Namco has used the second anniversary of the Spike Chunsoft-developed fighting game to unveil a roadmap stretching across the coming months and all of 2027. The plan combines free challenges, new paid fighters, brand-new modes and, above all, the feature the community has been asking for since day one: crossplay, which will arrive as a beta after summer 2027.

Why does it matter? Because a fighting game lives or dies by its player base, and a roadmap this long is a statement of intent: Sparking! Zero wants to stay relevant in community tournaments, on streams and in nightly lobbies. That said, the schedule comes with some fine print. Not every new addition will land on PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2 and PC at the same time, and for a scene that's already split across platforms, that's no small detail.

What you need to know

• Bandai Namco has published a Sparking! Zero roadmap covering the coming months and all of 2027.
• The content mixes free updates (including new challenges) with additional paid characters.
• The first major addition is Tower of Power (Solo), a single-player mode planned for this winter on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
• There will be special events featuring Gogeta (Super) and Frieza (Super), which will vary by platform.
• Crossplay will arrive as a beta after summer 2027.

What's changing and who it affects

First up is Tower of Power (Solo), a mode designed for solo play in which you climb the floors of a tower. It's content aimed at players who enjoy the game outside of competitive play, but it's also a solid training ground for anyone looking to sharpen their combos and their reads against AI-controlled opponents before jumping into ranked matches. What stands out is the absence of Nintendo's consoles from this first release: for now, it has only been confirmed for PS5, Xbox Series and PC.

That asymmetry repeats with the Gogeta (Super) and Frieza (Super) special events, whose availability depends on the platform. And then there's the main course: crossplay. Its arrival as a beta, with a release window that far out, makes it clear Bandai Namco doesn't want to rush it, but also that the community will have to keep waiting for quite a while.

Our take

Here at Underworld Lordz we're celebrating, but with a slightly furrowed brow. A fighting game with guaranteed support through 2027 is great news: it gives stability to tournament organizers, to players pouring hours into mastering their main, and to creators building content around the game. A clear schedule makes it possible to plan video series, live challenges and community events without worrying that the game will be abandoned overnight.

The problem is the pace of crossplay. For the competitive scene, crossplay isn't a luxury: it's what lets a PC player take on someone on PS5 without relying on their friends being on the same platform, and it's what keeps matchmaking times low once the launch hype fades. Having it arrive as a beta, and this late, almost three years after launch, feels like a missed opportunity to us. On top of that there's the fragmentation of content across platforms: if a mode or event reaches some consoles before others, the community splits right when it most needs to stay united.

We're also keeping an eye on the balance between free and paid content. Free challenges are welcome, but history tells us that paid characters are the ones that end up shaping the meta. If the new fighters arrive strong, anyone who doesn't pay up will be at a knowledge disadvantage, even if it's only because they can't practice with them. We'll have to see how Bandai Namco handles that balance.

What do you think?

The roadmap is on the table and it has a bit of everything: new modes, events featuring fusions and top-tier villains, paid fighters and a crossplay feature that's still a long way off. Now it's your turn: is it worth sticking with Sparking! Zero through 2027, or is crossplay arriving too late to keep you hooked? Drop by the team chat or our Discord and tell us where you stand.