Prerelease:Street Fighter 6

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Street Fighter 6.

To do: Grammar needs to be checked and speculation needs to be cut down or put into sub-pages, if not completely removed. More post-June reveal stuff (differences, trailers and gameplay videos, info, and images) to be covered and documented. Developer's Column page for the game is up on the Buckler's Boot Camp site. Other information from GameInformer Issue 351.

After Yoshinori Ono left Capcom in 2020, Takayuki Nakayama, who was a veteran designer for the Street Fighter series, approached to direct Street Fighter 6. Shuhei Matsumoto served as the producer, Yusuke Hashimoto was one of the game designers, and Yoshiya Terayama took on the role of being the game's lead music composer, with hip-hop being one of the game's key themes. The beginnings of Street Fighter 6 traced back to an early prototype of Street Fighter V, which became one of it's inspirations, and development started sometime in 2018 before the Season V DLC characters were released.

Reception for the game was received much better than the original base version of Street Fighter V, as the PC and PlayStation 5 versions had "universal acclaim" and the Xbox Series X/S version had "generally favorable reviews". The netcode was praised, and the Drive System was a great addition, that it sets up a compelling risk/reward dynamic that tinges on every interaction. Although World Tour's storytelling didn't do as much, it's noted that Capcom had learned from it's past mistakes and had made the most feature-packed fighting game yet. As of September 6, 2024, over four-million units have been sold worldwide, which is good news for Capcom as the game was starting to gain it's popularity, and it also won the award for Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards 2023 in December!

Sub-Pages

Game Modes

World Tour From the Pre-Alpha, into the open-world, much has been changed in World Tour before release.

Fighting Ground What's new, and what's changed in the Fighting Ground during development.

Battle Hub The Closed Beta Tests and Open Beta sure do involve this kind of mode.

Graphics

Early Portraits Even before release, the portraits for some of the characters had some slight differences.

Unused

Promotional Messages Extra messages from some of the characters to promote the presence of Street Fighter 6 at certain events, and also the first Closed Beta Test.

Development Timeline

Base Game

2018

• Unknown - The game is in development.

2019

• Unknown - A pre-alpha build of the game's World Tour mode was developed and tested.

2020

• November 2-20 - Evidence of a sixth Street Fighter installment was first teased when Capcom reported that it's servers were affected by ransomware, scrambling its data, and the threat actors, the Ragnar Locker hacker group, had allegedly stolen 1TB of sensitive corporate data and were blackmailing the company to pay them to remove the ransomware. By mid-November, the group began putting info from the hack online, which included plans for upcoming games, including Street Fighter 6 (as well as future Super and Ultra editions), indicating that Capcom opted to not pay the group, and affirmed that no credit-card or other sensitive financial info was obtained in the hack.

2021

• November 23 - After Luke's Street Fighter V DLC was released, director Takayuki Nakayama and producer Shuhei Matsumoto talked about his inclusion in Street Fighter V and his return in Street Fighter 6 in an interview.

2022

• February 14 - The game's announcement was teased through a countdown website, which ended in six days.
• February 21 - The first teaser trailer debuts after the announcement of the reveal of Capcom Fighting Collection at the conclusion of the Capcom Pro Tour 2021 Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Season Finals.
• June 2 - The first gameplay trailer debuts in PlayStation's State of Play broadcast, which announced the World Tour, Battle Hub and Fighting Ground modes, showed the return of Chun-Li and introduced newcomer Jamie, revealed the Metro City Downtown and Genbu Temple stages, and teased Kimberly's inclusion. Another gameplay trailer reveals the Real-Time Commentary feature in Fighting Ground, with Jeremy "Vicious" Lopez and Aru being revealed as commentators.
• June 3 - Concept art for the game's base roster and Year 1 DLC characters were leaked online following the game's State of Play appearance, hinting that Street Fighter 6 will have 18 characters at launch and 4 post-launch Year 1 DLC characters, making for a total of 22 characters. Also, Manon's early japanese name was referred to as "Mimi" at the time.
• June 6 - More Fighting Ground gameplay was shared on the Street Fighter Twitter account, revealing the Game Face feature.
• June 8 - The music video for the game's main theme song Not on the Sidelines, premires on Rolling Stone's Twitch channel.
• June 10 - Another trailer releases as part of Summer Game Fest, showing the return of Guile, and the Carrier Byron Taylor stage.
• June 13 - "Taking Aim - Luke's Theme" and "Not A Little Girl - Chun-Li's Theme" are released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• June 15 - A japan-only Capcom TV webstream featured Street Fighter 6, which shows off more Fighting Ground gameplay from the Summer Game Fest build.
• June 16 - "Viator - Ryu's Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• July 23 - "Mr. Top Player - Jamie's Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• August to October - Special messages from Chun-Li and Ryu, and Luke and Kimberly appeared online on the Street Fighter Twitter account to promote the game's presence at EVO 2022, and the game's first Closed Beta Test respectively.
• August 5 - "Sharpened Sonic - Guile's Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• August 7-8 - Two gameplay trailers debut during EVO 2022. The first reveals Tasty Steve and James Chen as commentators, and the second shows off the first proper gameplay for Kimberly and Juri, as well as the Tian Hong Yuan stage.
• August 26 - "Ninjastar Pop - Kimberly's Theme" and "ÅrachniD** - Juri's Theme" are released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• September 7 - Another japan-only Capcom TV webstream featured Street Fighter 6, and shows off more Fighting Ground gameplay for Kimberly and Juri.
• September 15-17 - As part of Tokyo Game Show 2022, another Street Fighter 6 gameplay trailer debuts, showing more gameplay from it's modes and revealing Ken, Blanka, Dhalsim and E. Honda as playable characters, introduces Extreme Battle and reveals the Ranger's Hut, Dhalsimer Temple, Old Town Market and The Macho Ring stages, and teasing part-time job minigames in World Tour. More gameplay was shown days later on the japan-only Capcom TV webstream, and on a dedicated TGS '22 showcase stream for the game, which also reveals the Training Room stage.
• September 18 - Street Fighter 6 won an award for Future Division at the 2022 Japan Game Awards.
• October 7-11 - The first Battle Hub closed beta test with 8 of the 18 playable launch characters was held. "Spirit of the Flame - Ken's Theme" and "zilra zilra - Blanka's Theme" are also released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• November 9 - Ken's Arcade mode story illustrations were revealed on Game Informer's website.
• November 19 - The Arcade mode story illustrations for Luke, Guile, Kimberly, Juri, Jamie, and Ryu by Bengus and Hiroaki Hashimoto were revealed at Capcom's Street Fighter 35th Anniversary Osaka event in Japan.
• November 22-29 - "The Great Sunlight - Dhalsim's Theme" and "Kumadori - E. Honda's Theme" are released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• December 9 - As part of The Game Awards 2022 show, another trailer debuts, showing more gameplay from World Tour and revealing Dee Jay, Marisa, Manon and JP as playable characters, and showing off the Bathers Beach, Colosseo, Fete Foraine, and Suval'hal Arena stages. A pre-order bonus trailer also releases.
• December 16-19 - The second Battle Hub closed beta test was held.
• December 20 - Another japan-only Capcom TV webstream featured Street Fighter 6, which shows off more Fighting Ground gameplay with Dee Jay, Manon, JP and Marisa.

2023

• January 24 - Developer matches between Dee Jay and Dhalsim, Blanka and JP, and Marisa and Manon (which were all previously shown at Street Fighter League Japan 2022) were released. "Pankration - Marisa's Theme" is also released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• January 31 - "Walk With Grace - Manon's Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• February 3-11 - "All Right! - Dee Jay's Theme" and "The Plunderer - JP's Theme" are released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• February 24 - As part of PlayStation's State of Play broadcast, another gameplay trailer debuted, revealing the first gameplay for Zangief, Lily and Cammy in World Tour and Fighting Ground, and showing off the Barmaley Steelworks, Thunderfoot Settlement and King Street stages.
• February 27 - Another japan-only Capcom TV webstream featured Street Fighter 6, which shows off more Fighting Ground gameplay.
• March 10 - During the Capcom Showcase, Hikaru Takahashi, the last color commentator was revealed.
• March 16-29 - Developer matches between Zangief and Marisa, Lily and E. Honda, and Cammy and Manon were released.
• March 30 to May 23 - A series of videos featuring japanese comedian Crystal Nova pre-playing the game were released in Japan.
• April 9-19 - "R.E.D. - Zangief's Theme", "Diosa Del Sol - Lily's Theme" and "OverTrip - Cammy's Theme" are released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• April 21-26 - More gameplay, and another trailer were shown in the Street Fighter 6 Showcase stream, and a demo featuring the Fighting Ground, and a portion of the game's World Tour mode was also released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, with a release for Xbox Series X and PCs on April 26.
• May 5 - A prequel comic series, titled Street Fighter 6: Days of the Eclipse was released in May, which explains how the game heavily focuses on Ken, Kimberly, Chun-Li and Luke’s stories.
• May 19-21 - An open beta for the game was held.
• May 25-26 - As part of PlayStation Showcase, the Your Story trailer focusing on master connections in World Tour debuts. The game's launch trailer is also released a day after, showing more gameplay.
• June 1 - A developer match between Luke and Ryu was released.
• June 2 - Street Fighter 6 is released worldwide.

Post-Launch DLC

2023

• July 3 - The gameplay trailer for the first post-launch Year 1 DLC character Rashid is released.
• July 8 - A Special message from Rashid appeared online on the Street Fighter X account to promote Street Fighter 6's presence at EVO 2023, and the character's upcoming post-launch DLC.
• July 12 - "The Turbulent Wind - Rashid's Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• July 24 - Rashid's DLC is released in-game.
• August 7 - A World Tour teaser trailer for A.K.I. is released during EVO 2023.
• August 31 - The gameplay trailer for the second post-launch Year 1 DLC character A.K.I. is released.
• September 8 - "Poisonous Passion - A.K.I.'s Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• September 23 - A Special message from A.K.I. appeared online on the Street Fighter X account to promote Street Fighter 6's presence at TGS 2023, and the character's upcoming post-launch DLC.
• September 27 - A.K.I.'s DLC is released in-game.
• December 7 - Street Fighter 6 won the award for "Best Fighting Game" at The Game Awards 2023. It was also nominated for "Best Multiplayer Game" and "Innovation In Accessibility", losing to Baldur's Gate 3 and Forza Motorsport respectively.

2024

• January 1 - Teaser artwork for the last post-launch Year 1 DLC character Akuma appears on the Street Fighter X account.
• January 19 - A World Tour teaser trailer for Ed is released.
• February 1 - A gameplay trailer for the "Ed Arrives!" ("Get Ready for Ed" in the Japanese version) Fighting Pass confirms that Ed's DLC will be released on February 27, 2024.
• February 8 - The gameplay trailer for the third post-launch Year 1 DLC character Ed is released, which also reveals the new Ruined Lab stage.
• February 13 - "König oder Feigling - Ed's Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel. A behind-the-scenes "making-of" video of the track featuring Blumio also appeared on the Street Fighter X account on the same day.
• February 17 - Street Fighter 6 won the award for "Fighting Game of the Year" at the 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.
• February 27 - Ed's DLC is released in-game.
• March 17 - As part of Day 2 of Capcom Highlights, the World Tour teaser trailer for Akuma is released, which shows a look at his Enma's Hollow stage that will release alongside his DLC. Production on a 2nd Year of post-launch DLC characters was also confirmed in the stream.
• April 29 - During EVO Japan 2024, the gameplay trailer for the final post-launch Year 1 DLC character Akuma is released.
• May 8 - "Shura - Akuma/Gouki's Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• May 22 - Akuma/Gouki's DLC is released in-game, which brings Year 1 to a close.
• June 2 - The game's "1st Anniversary" event begins.
• June 7 - An animated trailer for Year 2 drops as part of Summer Game Fest, which will bring back returning veterans M. Bison and Elena, and add two guest characters from SNK's Fatal Fury series; Terry and Mai. The gameplay trailer for M. Bison is also released.
• June 11 - "Undying Desire - M. Bison's Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• June 26 - M. Bison's DLC is released in-game.
• July 21 - A World Tour teaser trailer for Terry is released during EVO 2024, which reveals the Pao Pao Cafe 6 stage that will release alongside his DLC.
• August 21 - The gameplay trailer for Terry is released during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024, which reveals his theme to be "Kurikinton SF6 Arrange" (which is a new jazzy arrangement of his battle theme from Fatal Fury 2).
• August 24 - A demo of the game focusing on Terry's inclusion as DLC was held at Gamescom at the Capcom booth in Hall 9.
• September 5 - "Kurikinton SF6 Arrange - Terry's Theme" is released on the official Street Fighter YouTube channel.
• September 24 - Terry's DLC is released in-game.
• October 7 - In an interview with IGN, Shuhei Matsumoto spoke about the future of character costumes, as the team were "very pleased with the reception to the third outfits". He also teased that an Outfit 4 for every character is on the way and are expected to come out sometime in the future, meaning that production on the Year 3 and 4 characters are in development.

Early Beginnings

In the "A Visionary Book" booklet that came with the Japanese version of Street Fighter V if people ordered it from the e-Capcom store, there is a screenshot of the early Street Fighter V prototype build that shows Ryu fighting against M. Bison. Street Fighter V originally was going to have a different art direction, as this prototype used photo-realistic visuals and different character designs, meaning that a more realistically-shaded and conceptualized visual aesthetic, which was originally planned for that game would later be used in Street Fighter 6.

Early character concept art also existed in the booklet.

• 
• 

  Ryu's design in the early 2013 Street Fighter V prototype only had 6 colors. This was more likely a scrapped concept design for him.

• 

  But nine years later, it inspired a more better look for him in the reveal trailer for Street Fighter 6.

The producer of Street Fighter V told Game Spark in an interview, and further explained the design process behind the game, as well as the early character design for Ryu.

At this point in time, Ryu had just gotten back from training in seclusion in the mountains, so he's grown a beard and is covered with all these cuts and bruises. The idea to make a "Hot Ryu" battle costume for him came from this photo-realistic build. - Koichi Sugiyama

Ryu's design in this Street Fighter V prototype first became the inspiration for his Battle Costume, nicknamed "Hot Ryu", and this design in this early prototype would later be the inspiration for his Street Fighter 6 appearance. Both designs didn't have the top part of his gi, but when compared, the difference between the two designs is that the Ryu in the Street Fighter V prototype wore a chest/arm bandage and had messier hair; and the Ryu in the Street Fighter 6 teaser trailer had a much better hairstyle, different gloves, a short beard on his face, wears his headband, has bandages placed where the bottom of his chest would be, and wears sandals on his feet, but lacks his kasaya.

Although Street Fighter 6 occurs after the Street Fighter III series, Ryu still feels that he's "not there yet" - though he seems to have gained some dignity. The way he wears the kasaya (Buddhist robe) is reminiscent of his master, Gouken. - Takayuki Nakayama

Before Development

After Luke's inclusion in Street Fighter V as the final DLC character of Season V, director Takayuki Nakayama and producer Shuhei Matsumoto talked about his inclusion in Street Fighter 6 in an interview.

Luke is an important character who will be featured in the next Street Fighter project, so we hope you try him out when he’s released in Street Fighter V. - Takayuki Nakayama

Street Fighter V has been a project with peaks and valleys, but thanks to our fans, we’ve been able to accomplish what we aimed for. We, the development team, will use this experience as a springboard to move on to the next project! ...This is more of a ‘see you soon,’ rather than a ‘goodbye.’- Shuhei Matsumoto

The Game Modes

When development started, Nakayama put together a 92-page proposal for Street Fighter 6. Game modes mentioned in this proposal included Fighting Ground, World Tour and Battle Hub.

When creating games, it's quite common that plans change mid-way through development or that intended features get whittled away from the product, but there really wasn't much of that this time around. It's basically unchanged from that 92-page proposal, and the three main pillars of what we wanted the project to be were maintained throughout the entire process.- Takayuki Nakayama

Music Direction

As part of the new direction for the game's soundtrack, Yoshiya Terayama was the lead composer for all three modes of Street Fighter 6, with more BGM being added in future post-launch updates for the game. In the Developer's Column section of the Buckler's Boot Camp site, he had this to say about the feel of the game's soundtrack for World Tour, Fighting Ground and Battle Hub.

World Tour has a modern, city sound, and generally stays up-tempo. It makes extensive use of processed samples for brass and vocals, etc. to create a city-like sound. Fighting Ground's image has an underground street feel to it. The tempo is close to traditional hip-hop. So my thoughts were to compose music that revolves around the big booming synth bass. The Battle Hub is based on jazzy arrangements, creating an atmosphere of a place where you can connect with people in real-time.- Yoshiya Terayama

Countdown Site

On February 14, 2022, Capcom unveiled a countdown site to the reveal of Street Fighter 6 on the Capcom Games website. The countdown began at 6 days and 24 hours, which concluded in one week, coinciding with the Capcom Pro Tour 2022 Season Finals online event (as the live event was canceled). The countdown timer’s font is similar to the font used in the logo for Resident Evil Village.

Teaser Trailer

The game's first teaser trailer debuted after the Capcom Pro Tour 2022 Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Season Finals, and features Ryu and Luke. Both characters have new looks (though Ryu does not wear his kasaya), and the teaser ends just as they both begin fighting, revealing the game's early pre-release logo. It didn't confirm the release platforms, or date, but Capcom stated that more information would be revealed in the Summer of the year.

Also, a short version of the main theme "Not on the Sidelines" played in the teaser, but with slightly different instrumentization compared to the version used in the final.

Pre-release Teaser	Final (Music Video)	Final

The game's website went live after announcement, and Yusuke Hashimoto later confirmed on Twitter that he is one of the game designers working on Street Fighter 6. Capcom USA also posted a 4K version of this, which hinted that the game will run in 4K resolution on newer consoles.

Original Trailer	In-game

The teaser does appear in the final game's Gallery as a bonus cutscene, but with the game's finalized logo appearing at the end instead, rather than the pre-release logo.

June 2022 State of Play Trailer

Shown as part of the PlayStation State of Play broadcast, Capcom debuted this trailer for the game, which shows off the first gameplay from the World Tour, Fighting Ground, and Battle Hub modes, with some differences:

• The cutscene for meeting Luke in World Tour lacks the "But just maybe it'll show us the way" text.
• In World Tour, the "Engage" text, and the information of the player's next rival is absent when starting a battle.