One big break from tradition that Street Fighter V had with past games was that it launched directly to home systems without an arcade version — indeed, the game did not have an arcade version at all. However, it seems that is finally changing!

In a recent announcement, Taito has stated that a build of Street Fighter V, based on the Steam version, will be playable on their Type X4 arcade board at a special event this coming October 21. The event itself will feature a tournament on said arcade build of Street Fighter V on the following day.

The event itself will take place at the Tokyo Big Sight TFT Hall in Koto. Eight units will be available for competitors to play on. For those in Japan interested in joining the tournament on Sunday, registration will be from 9:30 AM to 10:00 AM Japan Time. Interestingly enough, the Vewlix cabinets to be used will also allow players to connect any XInput-compatible controller.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the Steam version of Street Fighter V coming to arcades; however, earlier reports stated that the game wasn’t coming to any specific arcade board, but rather a customized PC. Additionally, this announcement ties in to the hooks for an arcade mode that data miners have found in the game’s code.

As for when the arcade version will finally hit game centers in Japan, Taito has stated that there no plans to deploy these boards into their amusement centers. That said, this event — which may count as a location test, of sorts — does bode well for the series’ return to its roots.

Source: Taito