The next fighting game from veteran developer Arc System Works will be a Japanese-exclusive Dragon Ball Z game for the Nintendo 3DS.

Arc System Works is responsible for several of the more bombastic fighting game franchises; with an internal team led by Daisuke Ishiwatari, Arc System Works is the creator of both the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue sagas. The developers broadened their horizons in 2011 with Hard Corps: Uprising, a side-scrolling shooter intended to serve as the first in a series of prequels to Contra: Hard Corps; the remaining games were never finished. Over the past few years, Arc System Works has continued work on the BlazBlue series, released the Persona 4 Arena titles, and revived the Guilty Gear saga with Guilty Gear Xrd.

Late last week, Bandai Namco revealed via magazine V-Jump that a new Dragon Ball Z fighting game was in-development for the Nintendo 3DS. Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden will be a 2D Fighter, with a cast of over 100 characters. While previous Dragon Ball Z fighters may have featured massive rosters, many of the playable characters are variations of each other; it has not been confirmed if this will be the case for Extreme Butoden, or if it will feature 100+ unique characters. Led by Arc System Works, the new handheld fighting game appears to play like the older, pre-Budokai titles, such as Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu for the Game Boy Advance. A photo taken from V-Jump may suggest that Extreme Butoden will be supported by the New 3DS:

An official release date has not been announced, however Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden will release this summer in Japan. An international release has not been confirmed.

Sources: DBZ: EB Official Website, V-Jump (via Zaregoto)
Images courtesy of V-Jump (via Zaregoto), Arc System Works, Bandai Namco