Soulcalibur IV is the sixth installment in the series of , released for the and in 2008. It includes three characters from the franchise as playable fighters. This was the first Soulcalibur game not to receive an arcade version, and the last Soul series’ 1590 A.D. trilogy game, following II and III. In addition to greatly improved graphics over the previous title, the game features guest characters from the franchise. A spin-off for the , , was released in 2009,Soulcalibur IV features Story, Arcade, Training, and Museum modes. A new mode, Tower of Lost Souls, requires the player to win battles in order to gain rewards. The game runs in HD resolution with channel surround sound on both platforms.
The Character Creation mode from returns in Soulcalibur IV. However, instead of including original equipment styles for use with certain classes of fighters, Soulcalibur IV only allows players to choose which character from the series they would like to have their created character mimic. This differs from Soulcalibur III, where there were many unique styles such as "Grieve Edge". The styles of , the bonus characters and the Star Wars guest characters cannot be used by player-created characters. A wide array of new pieces of equipment are available for use in Soulcalibur IV's Character Creation mode, and new options include a wider range of character voices and the ability to change their pitch. The player may also change a character's general physique and muscularity.
- In addition, equipped items now also affect a character's statistics. Armor, equipment, and accessories may increase health, attack, or defense; they may also grant skill points that allow the character to equip special traits that affect the character's playstyle,
- traits may include automatically triggered guard impacts, the ability to cause damage against a blocking opponent, or even a statistic increase based on parameters such as an opponent's alignment or gender,
- Standard characters may also be modified in this manner, albeit only modestly, allowing custom costumes and skill sets to be used in Special VS. mode
- Custom characters may still be used in Standard VS. mode, but without any of the special abilities gained through equipment or equipmentchoice
