Street Fighter 6 gets surprise demo, DLC characters Akuma and more announced

Capcom has released a surprise playable demo for Street Fighter 6 alongside a bevy of new information for the fighting game.

The new playable demo is out now on PS4 and PS5 and will hit PC (via Steam) and Xbox Series X|S on April 26th. Furthermore, Street Fighter 6’s first post-launch downloadable characters were also announced:

Rashid (Street Fighter V) is coming summer 2023, A.K.I. gets released in fall 2023, Ed (Street Fighter V) is coming in early winter 2024, and Akuma (Super Street Fighter II Turbo) is coming roughly a year from now in spring 2024.

Here’s a rundown on the new info, plus new trailers:

Welcome to World Tour

• We showed off an all-new location in World Tour called Nayshall, a developing nation tucked away in a remote corner of Asia. You’ll meet iconic Masters and experience the world of Street Fighter™ with your own custom avatar as you hit the streets of Metro City, Nayshall, and other locations around the world in this new single-player story mode.
• We introduced a number of RPG elements as well. You can consume items and food during battle or at eateries to recover Vitality, acquire buffs, or inflict debuffs. As you level up your avatar, you’ll earn Skill Points to spend on a Skill Tree to further customize your tailor-made move set.
• Become a student of your favorite Masters – including all 18 launch characters – by Enrolling in their style and learning their Special Moves! Increase your bonds with Masters by giving them presents and completing Missions. Combine all of this to unlock new cutscenes as you form personal connections with these legendary fighters.

Show Off Your Style with Custom Avatar Battles

• Build up your unique character in World Tour and then head into Battle Hub to join custom Avatar Battles against other players online! Use your avatar with Dhalsim’s fighting style, Zangief’s Screw Piledriver, and Ken’s Hadoken, or any other combination of abilities you’ve learned in World Tour to show off your own personal fighting style. Be wary because your opponent might have come up with an even wilder palette of moves.

Innovation in Accessibility

• Street Fighter 6 is committed to supporting increased accessibility with innovative sound design that tells you how far away you are from your opponent, the height level of attacks, whether an attack is a cross-up, how much Drive Gauge remains, and more.
• For newcomers and veterans alike, there are fleshed out Tutorials, Character Guides, and Combo Trials, which provide a solid foundation for each character.
• Our third Control Type to go along with Classic and Modern is Dynamic, where you can unleash a character’s flashy moves by pressing the Auto-Attack button and having AI assist your attacks and combos!

Classic Fighting Game Experiences with Some Extra Spice

• Arcade Mode is a single-player mode where you’ll face off against the computer and learn more about each fighter’s story. Complete Arcade Mode with each character to unlock and view beautiful illustrations in the Gallery. Your scores can also be uploaded to online leaderboards!
• Play against other players or the computer by creating a team of up to 5 characters and customize the Match Format to your liking such as Single Elimination, Doubles, and Teams.
• Extreme Battle introduces rulesets you’ll need to follow, along with fun features like Running Bulls or our own special version of hot potato. Play in Extreme Battle to learn more about the basics of the game or to unleash pure havoc at a party.
• Play online against other players by creating a Custom Room. The four virtual cabinets in the room can be set to One on One, Extreme Battle, or Training. Custom Rooms can now include up to 16 players at a time and makes Online Training and Match Spectating easier than ever before!

Compete Against the World

• Ranked Matches return and we’ve taken steps to reduce the pressure of losing a match in certain Ranks. First, we’ve added a one-time Rank-down protection feature for those in Diamond rank and below. Next, Rookies will no longer lose League Points upon defeat to encourage online play. Finally, Iron-Gold and Master rank players will not incur League demotions. Each character also has their own individual Rank, so trying new characters in Ranked Matches is more approachable than ever.

Wait – There’s More!

• As a celebration of the entire Street Fighter series, we’re introducing the Battle Damage Feature! During fights, characters will get sweatier, develop cuts and bruises, along with other signs of heated battle appearing on their faces and clothing. This is only available in certain offline modes and can be turned off in Settings.
• We showed off how players can create a Club in the Battle Hub to play with friends and find like-minded players. Customize your Club emblem and design a uniform that only your Club’s members can show off.

Get Ready for Year 1 with Four New Characters!

• Rashid of the Turbulent Wind, who debuted in Street Fighter™ V, returns in Summer 2023. The enigmatic A.K.I. struts into the roster in Autumn 2023. Ed, the Young Commander from Street Fighter V, also strikes back in early Winter 2024. And finally, the legend himself, the beast, the transcendent Akuma will rage into Street Fighter 6 in Spring 2024! All four of these characters will be included as Masters in World Tour following their release and are also included in the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions of Street Fighter 6.

Demo Available Now

• Power up your PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4 and play the demo now! Players on Xbox Series X|S or PC will have access starting on April 26 at 12am PT. You can learn basic battle mechanics from the Tutorial and practice Luke & Ryu’s moves and fighting style in the Character Guide. Dip a toe into the first few moments of World Tour where you can experiment with the deep avatar creation feature. Custom avatars can be transferred over to the full game on the same platform once it releases!

Street Fighter 6 is launching on June 2nd, 2023 across Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.