Capcom has announced a new partnership with Bandai Namco, but it's not exactly for the reason you might think. According to a press release this morning, the company aims to improve "online matching" in properties such as the Street Fighter.

"The purpose of this agreement is to improve the user experience while accelerating the production of titles and reducing development costs for both parties," the press release states. This cross-licensing agreement will also allow Capcom to bring more exciting content to Street Fighter and future titles.

Capcom will use this partnership as a way to gauge future collaborations. This may lead to even better user experiences and a healthier game industry down the road.

Though the press release doesn't directly state it, this is very likely referencing Street Fighter 5. If that's the case, this is quite interesting for the game's future.

It is no secret that one of Street Fighter 5's largest issues is its online experience. From constant server maintenance to slow matchmaking (which was addressed in the recent update), the game has struggled with connectivity since launch.

With assistance from Bandai Namco, we could potentially see a stronger experience overall. Not only that, but the acceleration of title production may also lead to faster release times for new content and game updates.

Generally speaking, when two companies partner up it is usually for some sort of IP crossover. We've seen Capcom and Bandai Namco come together in the past to create Street Fighter X Tekken, and most recently witnessed Street Fighter's Akuma make a guest appearance as a playable character in Tekken 7.

While this press release is centered around online matching and not on future projects, it could potentially open the door for more crossovers. We'll just have to wait and see.

This is certainly an interesting development for Capcom fans. It will be fascinating to see what kind of improvements this partnership will garner down the road.

Sent in by Realdarkphoenix, Cael, NyuBomber, and ParabolaBeam.