Harada hates leaks, but he’s made an exception.
Elphelt for Guilty Gear Strive is now officially confirmed thanks to a leak from the director of the Tekken series, of all people. After weeks of rumors and evidence supporting both sides, the next DLC for Guilty Gear Strive is confirmed as Elphelt Valentine.
A rogue post from Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada confirmed the leak hours before the official reveal at The Game Awards later this afternoon. The link included Elphelt’s new design, hints at her story, and revealed other features coming soon in Season 3. Here’s the story behind the surprise leak and what we know about Elphelt’s return.
Harada leaks Elphelt
On Dec. 7, 2023, at 2 p.m. CT, Harada tweeted out a link to an official announcement regarding Elphelt Valentine. The page was likely meant to stay unlisted until the official announcement with its listed release date of Dec. 8. While it did not include gameplay footage (the YouTube video was privated) it listed Elphelt’s character traits, backstory, and official design. This completely confirms all previous leaks of the character.
Namco Bandai has since taken the web page offline, but these are the images from the leak:
Elphelt will be playable in Guilty Gear Strive on Dec. 8 the day after her reveal at The Game Awards.
The official confirmation from Harada is also extremely strange. Tekken’s director has previously spoken out against roster leaks for Tekken 8, even implying to have identified the leaker. Namco Bandai published both Tekken and Guilty Gear Strive, which is why he would have advance access to the announcement in the first place. This was likely a mistake on his part while trying to congratulate the Guilty Gear team on the announcement.
In addition to images, the reveal also detailed how Elphelt’s character has changed between the Guilty Gear Xrd series and Strive. After working for the Illyrian government, she became embarrassed by her incompetence and left the organization. She now travels as a musician with a band named Speothos Venaticus. Her gameplay description describes her as a mixup-based character that is simple to use. She has also developed a fondness for South American bush dogs, at times even pretending to be one.
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