The breakup line in the title is a wink, not a verdict. Scott Pilgrim EX finally arrived on March 3, 2026, sixteen years after Ubisoft’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game turned into one of those weird cult artifacts that gets pulled from storefronts, fan-petitioned back, and eventually re-released as a Complete Edition that nobody under thirty knows what to do with. This one’s different. Tribute Games is handling it, Bryan Lee O’Malley wrote the script, Anamanaguchi is back on music, and it’s out on Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series, and PC right now. Below is everything in the box what the game is, who built it, how it plays, what you’re paying for, and what to know going in.
What Scott Pilgrim EX is
A side-scrolling beat-em-up with an open-world skeleton, built around an original O’Malley story that sort of, kind of sits after the 2023 Netflix anime Takes Off though O’Malley himself has said in interviews he doesn’t really think of it as a sequel to anything. It’s its own thing. The plot is barely a plot: Sex Bob-omb gets jumped during band practice, the members and their instruments end up scattered across a fractured Toronto, and Scott plus six other playable characters have to chase them down through pockets of subspace stitched into the city’s buildings.
Who Made It
Tribute Games. Same studio that did TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge in 2022 and Marvel Cosmic Invasion in 2025. A handful of the team worked on the original Ubisoft Scott Pilgrim game way back in 2010, and lead artist Paul Robertson the guy whose pixel art basically defined what Scott Pilgrim looks like in motion came back for this one too. Universal is publishing under license, O’Malley has a story credit, and the whole thing has the feel of a studio that wanted to do this and got to do it on their own terms.
If you’ve played a Tribute brawler before, you already have a rough idea of what this feels like to hold a controller during.
How It Plays
Here’s the structural shift that matters most. The 2010 game was strictly linear you opened a map, picked a stage, fought right, repeat. EX throws all of that out. There’s no level select menu. You walk around an interconnected Toronto on foot, talk to NPCs, follow leads to specific buildings, and step through subspace doorways inside those buildings to drop into the actual combat stages. The city is the connective layer between fights, and exploration is half the game.
The combat itself is recognizably classic brawler stuff:
- Light attacks, heavy attacks, throws, and character-specific specials.
- Combo extensions using environmental objects and pickup weapons.
- Coins drop off enemies and get spent at in-world shops on stat upgrades and gear.
- Badges unlock new abilities and reshape how each fighter plays.
- Food items (sushi, pizza, ramen) heal you and stack temporary buffs.
Bosses cap most subspace stages, and the roster of who shows up to fight you is deep into Scott Pilgrim canon territory the Seven Evil Exes are in there, anime characters show up, and O’Malley wrote in a few new faces specifically for the game.
The Playable Cast
Seven fighters at launch:
- Scott Pilgrim – the all-rounder, the one you’ll probably default to first.
- Ramona Flowers – mobile, plays at range, subspace hammer for crowd control.
- Matthew Patel – fireball specials, quick and flashy.
- Gideon Graves – slow but heavy, long sword reach.
- Lucas Lee – grapple-focused, skateboard mobility, big personality.
- Roxie Richter – ninja weaponry, fast and tricky.
- Robot-01 – new character, mechanical kit, built different.
Each character has their own upgrade path and badge slots, and you level them up individually rather than sharing progress across the roster. That’s a deliberate choice to push you toward variety, though in practice most solo players are going to pick a main and ride it.
Multiplayer
Up to four players, local couch or online. Drop-in, drop-out. On Switch 2 the game supports GameShare, which lets one copy of the game host a local session across multiple consoles handy if your friend group is divided between systems. Online play on Nintendo platforms needs a Switch Online membership. Cross-platform multiplayer is not in at launch, and there’s no word yet on whether it’s coming.
Co-op is where most reviewers have settled on this being a really good game rather than a fine one. The seven-character roster makes a lot more sense when four of them are on screen at once.
The Soundtrack
Anamanaguchi did the music. Same band that scored the 2010 game and the Netflix anime, back for a third run at this universe. If you liked either of those soundtracks, this one’s in the same lineage but louder, sharper, and a little more confident. The Deluxe Edition box comes with the official soundtrack, and tracks are dropping individually through the band’s usual channels if you’d rather just stream it.
Editions And Pricing
Three retail tiers:
- Standard Edition $39.99. Base game, foil cover, reversible insert art by Crisppyboat.
- Deluxe Adventure Edition $64.99. Adds a collector’s box with alternate art by Matias Bergara, the full soundtrack, and an O’Malley-written tie-in mini-comic.
- Ultimate Adventure Edition. Limited run, sold through Limited Run Games. A faux “Game Goose” console box (a fictional handheld from the game’s universe), a hardcover art book that doubles as a strategy guide, an acrylic Scott-and-Ramona diorama, and a pixel art commemorative coin.
Limited Run physical pre-orders closed in September 2025, so the Ultimate is harder to come by post-launch. Standard and Deluxe digital versions are stocked normally on each platform’s store.
Platforms
Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. All four at launch on the same day. No Switch 1 version. No PS4 or Xbox One version. No announced plans for either.
What Carries Over From The 2010 Game
If you’re coming back from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Games, here’s the quick comparison:
| Element | 2010 Game | Scott Pilgrim EX |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Linear, level-select map | Open Toronto, free exploration |
| Roster | 4 base + 3 DLC | 7 at launch |
| Soundtrack | Anamanaguchi | Anamanaguchi (new compositions) |
| Co-op | Up to 4, local only initially | Up to 4, local and online |
| Story | Loose film/comic retelling | Original O’Malley script |
| Engine | Ubisoft proprietary | Tribute Games engine |
Visually the two games are close enough that screenshots can look interchangeable at a glance and that’s the point. Robertson’s pixel work is the thread that ties them together.
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Buy
The story is light. It’s a vehicle for cameos, gags, and set pieces, not a serious narrative payoff to Takes Off or the comics, and if that’s what you wanted, this isn’t it. The open-city design is one of the best ideas in the game but you will absolutely walk down the same street more times than you’d like in the back half. Replay value lives in character mastery, harder difficulties, and co-op there’s no real endgame loop beyond that.
For a feel-check, Tribute’s Shredder’s Revenge is the closest reference point in their catalog. If you bounced off that, EX is unlikely to flip you. If you loved it, this is more of that done with even more affection for the source material.
The title of this article is a joke. The game is good. There’s a demo on every storefront, and an hour with it will tell you more than any review will.
