We now know why Street Fighter 6 is launching later than we thought
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You probably know that Street Fighter 6 launches on June 2 this year, but that’s actually much later in the year than fans of old series are used to.
Prior to Street Fighter 6, major titles in the series typically launched early in their respective years, usually around February. The game’s producer, Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, is well aware of this and spoke in an interview with Game informant (opens in new tab).
“It’s rare that games come to fruition where they could deliver everything the team was looking for,” says Tsuchiya. “Some kind of compromise always had to be made or ideas had to be scrapped because of budget, schedule or resource issues.
But for this time, regarding the basic things Nakayama-san [Street Fighter 6’s director] wanted to achieve with his dream project, it seems we didn’t really have to make any omissions or compromises for this title.”
In his comments, Tsuchiya could be referring to the controversial launch of Street Fighter 5 in 2016. The PS4 fighter was initially met with a lukewarm reception due to its small character count and lack of modes and content outside of the online suites.
Street Fighter 5 eventually grew into a content-rich package, with a final roster of 45 characters. And the vast majority of DLC is now available to purchase in the discounted Street Fighter 5 Champion Edition upgrade.
Avoiding the same mistakes
It seems that Capcom wants to avoid rushing to launch a second time. Street Fighter 6, compared to its predecessor, appears to be packed with content at launch. While we wait for the final batch of trailers for characters to appear in the base roster, it looks like there will be more fighters available to play on day one than in Street Fighter 5.
Street Fighter 6 will also feature a full-fledged single-player campaign in World Tour mode, where players can create their own character and learn moves from iconic Street Fighter characters who act as mentors. Plus, all of Street Fighter 5’s modes are also returning, so it looks like there will be plenty to do on day one whether you’re playing online or offline.
Street Fighter 6 has gone through a long and arduous development, not made any easier by the Covid-19 pandemic. But it’s refreshing to hear that Capcom is committed to launching a high-quality, feature-rich game on day one, seemingly without any glaring omissions.
You’d like to think that those extra few months in the oven will benefit the game in the long run. Fortunately, we’ve already seen a lot of positive feedback from the two closed beta tests that have taken place so far.
And if you’re picking up Street Fighter 6 when it launches, you might want to check out our best fightsticks guide if you’re looking for an authentic arcade experience rather than a more traditional pad.