Guilty Gear Strive Patch Notes: Version 1.48 August 2025
Guilty Gear Strive Patch 1.48 is scheduled for release after maintenance on August 21, 2025, across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows versions
A Fresh Fighter Enters the Ring
Lucy is here, and, wow, I didn’t think the Cybergirl from Edgerunners would be showing up in my main after-work grind. But patch 1.48 brings Lucy as a full playable character—no teases, no mystery trailers, just “bam,” pay and play. You’ll need that Season Pass 4 or her DLC, but let’s be real, most GG diehards bought that bundle the moment they dropped the first pixelated teaser. Even if you’re not hyped for Lucy herself, her arrival shakes up things in the roster, and I’m already picturing the wild combos, the day-one "Lucy broke Ranked" memes, and the inevitable stream clips where someone loses their mind because cyber magic made their main obsolete for an hour. Sweet chaos, honestly.
BGM With a Cyberpunk Vibe and Some Nostalgia
It's not just a new fighter—there’s a playlist update too. A solid chunk of the music comes straight from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and 2077. Akira Yamaoka, Marcin Przybyłowicz, Rosa Walton—you see those names, you know it’s got some flavor. “I Want to Stay at Your House” is available, but apparently only until 2027. That’s a wild expiration date for a banger. Someone put it in their coffee shop playlist, I dare you.
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Brand new BGMs (all up for grabs, even if you skip Lucy):
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Opening Credits (Edgerunners)
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Run to the Edge (Edgerunners)
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Cyberwildlife Park (2077)
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Chippin’ In (2077, by Refused)
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Never Fade Away (2077, by Refused)
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I Really Want to Stay at Your House (Rosa Walton)
The details here made me chuckle—music actually gets an expiry date now? That’s the most “future dystopia” thing since the last time someone rage-quit a ranked match.
Avatar Parts, Gallery Items, and a Bit of Flair
This update slaps on new avatar parts for Lucy, David, and Rebecca, plus new gallery items. No more fishing for unlocks either—they just show up in your inventory once you patch up. I wish more games did this, because fishing for content has, frankly, outlived its welcome. There are also two new skin colors for lobby avatars. So, if fashion in the lobbies is your game, it’s a good evening.
In a smaller corner of the patch: lobby color renaming, new GG WORLD entries (Lucy, Venom, Dizzy, Robo-Ky, etc.)—basically, the lore people get their treat. Quintessential Guilty Gear, always caring for the lore goblins (I say that affectionately, promise).
Ranked Match: Welcome to Digital Sweat
This one got real loud in my group chat—Ranked Mode is finally here. You can properly grind RP (Rank Points), and each character gets their own placement matches. Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and finally, Vanquisher. It sounds like a cereal brand, but also my new obsession.
And dig this: Druel Rating (DR) kicks in after you hit Vanquisher, and it resets every three months. Badge rewards for top spots? That’s honestly enough incentive for me to tank my sleep schedule again. Also, matchmaking tweaks: mode names got changed (Online Match is now Lobby Match, Rank Tower is Duel Tower). Celestial Floor’s now treatable as an assigned floor—which means entry and promotion matter more. No more punishment resets; you get demoted only if your record tanks, not because the clock struck midnight.
Genuinely, here’s what I wish more games did: let you block problem players mid-match if things go sideways, plus a new “Player Search” to hunt down rivals. It’s nerdy, but in the best possible way. GG devs really leaning into quality of life on this patch.
Other Small Bits and Bug Fixes
Lightning tweaks for the “Council of Three” stage—a change only the hardcore notice, but boy, does it look cleaner. Some rankings now only show active players, cutting out ancient fossil accounts. As for bugs: background NPCs finally move in “New Dawn, A Future Unfolding”—trust me, you don’t notice until you do. Several weird mission completions, visuals in Story Mode, Venom animation glitches, odd Unika command list errors, all fixed up. Minor polish, but it’s honestly adorable how granular ArcSys gets. Like, thanks for fixing the font in random settings… My eyes thank you.
Let’s drop a few bullet points, just for the speed-readers:
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Lucy, David, Rebecca avatar parts and gallery items automatically added
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Ranked Match mode (with RP, DR, badges, placement matches)
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Improved matchmaking, floor systems, and blocking options
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New BGM from Cyberpunk; limited-time access to “I Want to Stay at Your House”
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Bug fixes everywhere: background character animations, mission/completion bugs, some funky command lists
Battle Adjustments: Quiet Storms
Oh, right: battle version bumped up to Ver. 4.07. Some minor balance changes and individual bug fixes for character moves, but nothing wild. This patch is more about making sure the game feels better than last week, not starting a tier list arms race that destroys discourse for two months.
Final Thoughts: A Patch Day to Remember (If Only for the BGM)
This patch doesn’t reinvent Guilty Gear Strive, but it’s like someone did a deep clean on an already stylish apartment. I’m pumped for Lucy just to see what nonsense people invent; the new ranked grind is drama waiting to happen, and if nothing else, the music will make losses sting less. Am I holding onto my “Celestial Floor” status through thick and thin? You bet—but now with a new badge and probably two fewer bugs haunting my matches.
Check out the official patch notes for Guilty Gear -Strive-. Click here for the full patch details.
Below is an official tweet shared by @GUILTYGEAR_PR
