The closed beta for Street Fighter 6 is getting underway, with entrants and those watching from afar excited to get their first taste of the game. Although the major single-player modes won't be included, much of the Battle Hub and some offline options for training and customization are available. Street Fighter 6 is poised to be a brand-new take on not only what Street Fighter is, but what AAA fighting games can be.
Where Street Fighter 4 was focused on reintroducing the world to Street Fighter after SF3's poor sales, and Street Fighter 5 wanted to please the competitive scene while testing live-service features, Street Fighter 6 intends to be a well-rounded and content-rich experience. More control and personalization has been handed to the player than ever, with many more decisions that can be made beyond picking a character and stage. With the official Street Fighter Twitter account revealing the challenger approaching cut-in for online play can be customized, Street Fighter 6 looks like it could be the most player-driven fighting game yet.
Players Have Control Over Street Fighter 6’s Pre-Match Slides
The quick announcer bark declaring that a challenger is approaching should be familiar to anyone who’s spent a lot of time with fighting games. It's a common sight and sound for those who played in packed arcades or waited for online match requests in training mode, and Tekken 7 has even drilled its equivalent into players' heads by repeating it with each new match. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Street Fighter 6 will have this ubiquitous feature, though it's doing something different compared to other fighting games.
As the fighting genre is online-focused, players are often able to set up their own profiles and icons to be seen during loading screens or lobbies. This varies from game to game, and can sometimes take the form of the player's lobby avatar. Street Fighter 6 goes above and beyond this call, letting players customize the screen they see upon a new match being confirmed. In what might be a first for the fighting game genre, the “Here comes a new challenger!” screen can have its border changed out, various effects applied, and its art chosen from a massive library of new pieces referencing Street Fighter history. Just scrolling through with a customization screen is going to be a treat, and it speaks to Street Fighter 6's overall direction.
The Street Fighter 6 Experience Is Tailored To The Player
While the playable roster does not seem to support any customization beyond the expected costumes, Street Fighter 6 is offering create-a-character for the first time in the series' life. This custom avatar will serve as the protagonist of the game's single-player World Tour mode, as well as their face when they join a Battle Hub lobby. While the gameplay ramifications aren't as large as Mortal Kombat and Injustice’s custom movesets, players will still be able to put together a distinct digital persona that is uniquely their own.
There's so much choice in Street Fighter 6 that players don't even need to engage with the primary modes. If one doesn't feel like progressing through the campaign or queuing up for regular matches, they could try their hand in gimmick-based Extreme Battles instead. Plenty of time could be spent researching and grinding in the expansive Training mode, or the player can tackle an arcade run in a rotating set of classic Capcom games. There’s even dynamic commentary tracks and game-changing control schemes available. The amount of choice in this 1v1 fighting game is astounding, and other AAA fighting releases could be catching up to Street Fighter 6 for years to come.
Street Fighter 6 releases in 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
