Following up on its previous promise of a summer reveal, Capcom joined PlayStation during today’s State of Play to share more footage of the upcoming Street Fighter 6.
Street Fighter 6‘s roster expands with the addition of Chun-Li and newcomer Jamie, who appears to utilise some sort of drunken fighting style. The game will also feature two distinct modes, one focused on the one-on-one fighting you’d expect from a Street Fighter game and another an “immersive” single-player story that apparently allows you to traverse an open world in search of battles.
Capcom first revealed Street Fighter 6 back in February with a cinematic showing off the game’s new aesthetic direction. At the time, the only fighters confirmed for its roster were series poster boy Ryu and Luke, an annoying dork introduced late into Street Fighter V’s life whose said to be the future of the franchise (gag). Reactions were mixed, with many fixating on the terrible logo (which has apparently been updated) and the fact you could see Ryu’s sizable bulge through his gi.
Street Fighter 6 leaked late last year as part of an internal release schedule made public by the Capcom ransomware hack. The leaked corporate document indicated that the game would launch sometime in Q3 2022 (October-December 2022), with Super and Ultra updates slated for Q4 2023 (January-March 2024) and Q4 2024 (January-March 2025) respectively. (Obviously, no information was provided on these planned expansions during today’s reveal.)
The long-running Street Fighter franchise has served as the developer’s flagship fighting game for over 30 years. First debuting in 1987, it changed the genre (and arcades!) forever with 1991’s Street Fighter II. However, the series has definitely had its ups and downs across its overwhelming number of sequels and revisions.
After the release of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike in 1999, Capcom put the franchise on the bench for almost a decade. It seemed like the developer had fallen out of love with the series entirely until renewing its vows with 2008’s Street Fighter IV, which also spawned several updates and eventually prompted the release of the more esports-focused Street Fighter V in 2016.
It certainly wasn’t the series’ best showing, but Street Fighter V’s longevity allowed the developers to pull it from the brink of disaster and turn it into a pretty competent fighting game, all things considered.
The franchise might not be as dominant as it once was, but Street Fighter’s status as a household name is undeniable. And while Capcom’s hold on the series has been shaky, it’s also shown brief flashes of brilliance, especially since the departure of Street Fighter IV producer and former Capcom executive Yoshinori Ono.
With a new team at the wheel, anything is possible for Street Fighter, and as a longtime fan, I can’t wait to see what the refreshed developers have in store for Street Fighter 6 despite these rough early showings.
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