Shortly after Bandai Namco Entertainment and Arc System Works launched the closed beta for their upcoming 2.5D fighting video game, "Dragon Ball FighterZ," reports from Japan have now revealed a number of new characters that will be joining the game's growing roster. The closed beta for the game officially launched yesterday, Sept. 16th, which gave fans the chance to try out the game before its official release early next year.

New playable characters

While Bandai Namco hadn't really made any official announcements on social media or other online publications, the publisher did reveal the identity of three playable characters in the latest issue of the Japanese V-Jump magazine.

Within the latest issue, it was revealed that Tien Shinhan and Yamcha will be appearing in the upcoming game alongside the other 13 characters that had previously been announced.

Yamcha's best friend, Chaozu, will also be joining as an assist character. The characters that have already been confirmed to be joining the roster include Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Future Trunks, Majin Buu, Krillin, Piccolo, Cell, Frieza, Android 16, Android 18, Super Saiyan Blue Goku, and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta. Those who will pre-order the game will be getting access to both Blue Vegeta and Goku during its launch as an added bonus.

Check out Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta and Goku in action in the video below:

All-new fighter

Alongside Tien Shinhan and Yamcha, Bandai also announced a brand new original character that was specially created for the game's story mode.

The character, called Android 21, will be featured in the game as part of its main single-player campaign. Not much is yet known about the character's origins, but she has been described to possess the same intellect level as Dr. Gero. Android 21 was also designed and created by the franchise's original creator, Akira Toriyama, just for the upcoming game.

It is not yet clear if Android 21 will be a playable character within the game, or if she would essentially become its main antagonist.

Closed beta

The official closed beta for "Dragon Ball FighterZ" will be available for a select number of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players who were able to register for the event. Those who were picked should have already received a download code for the game via their registered emails. Players will be given a three-hour block to try out the game during specific hours within the closed beta period over the weekend.