Hey everyone!

We just announced some big Street Fighter V news today at the Capcom panel here at EVO 2015. There is quite a lot of information to take in, so buckle down and read carefully!

First and foremost, Street Fighter V will feature a brand new service-based approach with regards to post-launch content. With this approach come several key changes to our content strategy:

The initial release is the only disc you will ever need to own All balance and system adjustments will be available for free All post-launch gameplay related content will be earnable for free by playing the game

That’s right; Street Fighter V will be the first iteration in the franchise where it is possible for dedicated players to earn all gameplay related content (such as characters) for free, simply by playing the game. Long gone are the days of forced Super and Ultra upgrades! Enjoy free balance updates as soon as they become available, and find and choose the post-launch characters that you want to get.

Pre-order for Beta Access

Speaking of characters, Street Fighter V will launch with a core roster of 16 playable characters, with 4 of them being brand new fighters to the Street Fighter universe. Post-launch, we will be adding new characters to the roster on a continuous basis, which will provide new content for players to enjoy. Again, every post-launch character released will be earnable for free through gameplay!

Looking back on the Street Fighter IV series, we had always released bundles of content all at once, like with Super Street Fighter IV and Ultra Street Fighter IV. While these one-time updates did revive interest in the series every few years, it was difficult to keep players engaged for long periods of time unless they were competitive. This also punished players who took a break from playing the game, because if they wanted to start again in a few years, they would be forced to purchase an upgrade to join the existing player pool who had already moved on to a new version. On top of that, this old method also forced players to purchase all of the new content, even if only a few characters may have appealed to them.

With Street Fighter V, we want to change the way that players interact with the series, and create an ever-evolving environment for players to enjoy. By releasing new characters on a regular basis, it will ensure that there is always new content to look forward to in the short term, and it prevents the competitive environment from ever becoming stale.

Players also have more freedom in their decisions, as they only need to purchase or earn the content that appeals to them. This will also create more long-term engagement, because the more you play the game, the more you are rewarded and can earn new content. The player base is never shrunk by requiring a paid update like in years past. Players can take a break from the game, but then come back at any time and continue to play with the characters they already own, with the newest gameplay balance.

We are able to execute this service-based model by introducing an in-game economy to Street Fighter V. There are two types of currency that make the economy go round:

Fight Money

This is basic currency that players earn through playing the game. Once players accumulate enough Fight Money, they can use it to earn new post-launch gameplay content, such as characters, for free!

Zenny

This is premium currency that players can purchase with real money to immediately gain access to post-launch content.

We will be using later beta phases to test the economy and ensure it works in a fair way for everyone.

Phew! That was a lot of info, so we hope it all makes sense to everyone. We are extremely excited about this new post-launch strategy, and we’ll be talking about more specific details at a later date. For now, we hope everyone is excited to start playing and earning content!