Street Fighter 6 release date, gameplay, roster and news

Street Fighter 6 launched in June 2023, making the sixth instalment to the Street Fighter franchise. As one of the best fighting games, there was a lot of anticipation surrounding the launch, and now it's released in full and we've released our review, you can see just how successful the release was. 

Leading up to the release of the game we were offered an array of trailers, an insight into the roster, which we compiled into a single page. Here's everything we knew about Street Fighter 6 in advance of its launch, so you can look back on what we knew and anticipated and see how it compares to the game in full.

Street Fighter 6: cut to the chase

• What is it? Capcom's sixth mainline entry in the Street Fighter franchise
• When did it launch? June 2, 2023
• What can I play it on? PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S

Street Fighter 6 release date and platforms

Street Fighter 6 released on June 2, 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. This release date was revealed during The Game Awards 2022, alongside a brand new look at the World Tour mode. 

Street Fighter 6 trailers

Latest trailer

The last trailer for Street Fighter 6 was shown off during a Sony State of Play that aired in February 2023. It showed off some of the new characters and fighting locations, and can be seen in full below:

More trailers

We've included some more Street Fighter 6 trailers throughout this article. For a look at every Street Fighter 6 trailer released so far, be sure to visit Capcom's official YouTube channel.

Street Fighter 6 roster

Thanks to the last release date reveal trailer, Capcom outlined the full launch roster for Street Fighter 6. While DLC characters are inevitable additions, here's who players can play off the bat:  Luke, Jamie, Manon, Kimberly, Marisa, Lily, JP, Juri, Dee Jay, Cammy, Ryu, E. Honda, Blanka, Guile, Ken, Chun-Li, Zangief, Dhalsim, Dee Jay, Manon, Marisa and JP.

Of these characters, Kimberly, Marisa, Manon, JP, and Jamie are brand new. In terms of fighting styles, Jamie is a professional dancer, so has extremely acrobatic moves and skills. He is described on the official SF6 blog as follows: 

"This self-styled Chinatown peacekeeper aspires to the example set by Yun and Yang, the Twin Dragons. An expert dancer, Jamie places justice and friendship above all else, defending his town with martial skill."

Kimberly on the other hand, is basically an aspiring ninja with a spray can. She has heaps of visual flair, and a fun 80s aesthetic. Here's how she's described on the same blog:

"Uninvited student to Guy, the 39th successor to Bushinryu. Kimberly had an ordinary upbringing, but she's a genuine prodigy who graduated college early...and now wants to be a ninja. Loves '80s pop culture."

Marisa is an up-and-coming jewellery designer from Italy who claims ancestry to ancient Greek warriors. As a child, she was inspired by a vision of the Colosseum in its prime.

Manon on the other hand, is something of a fashionista. She struts the catwalk of street fighting to become the world's strongest model.

Finally, JP is head of an international NGO responsible for many successful investment projects. He also has a beloved cat named Cybele. JP loves chess puzzles and local cuisine, but hates stains on his clothes, and sleep.

Street Fighter 6 modes

Street Fighter 6 brought back several returning modes alongside two new modes. Fighting Ground offers a classic fighting game experience and will include Arcade Mode, online matches, Training Mode, local versus battles, and more, according to Capcom.

In addition to these returning modes, Street Fighter 6 introduced the Battle Hub and World Tour mode. World Tour offers “an immersive single-player story experience” and, from the announcement trailer, appears to allow for free-roaming 3D gameplay. Some more on World Tour was shown off during The Game Awards 2022. Players can train their own avatar, taking them across the world to learn new abilities from Master fighters found in each location.

Battle Hub, on the other hand, is Street Fighter 6's multiplayer segment, and essentially serves as a social hub where players can hang out and challenge each other to fights or mini games.

Street Fighter 6 gameplay

It's not just new modes that Capcom introduced in Street Fighter 6. Drive Gauge is a new battle system mechanic that aims to allow for more "creativity". This gauge can be used to perform five different techniques that will improve your defence or offense.

"A Drive Impact is a powerful strike that can absorb an opponent’s incoming attack and can lead to a wall splat," Capcom writes in a PlayStation Blog post. "Use Drive Parry to repel your opponent’s attack and refill your Drive Gauge. Cancel out of a Drive Parry or normal attack into a Drive Rush to quickly close in on your opponent. Overdrive Arts are similar to EX Moves from past games that power up your Special Moves. Use Drive Reversal to perform a counterattack to get you out of tight situations. One gauge, five techniques, unlimited possibilities. Use your creativity to choose which technique to utilize and when."

Street Fighter 6 aimed to be more accessible to new players with the introduction of the Modern Control Type. While the Classic Control Type is still available, the new type will allow for "easier inputs" for Special moves, so you can simply use the Special Move button with a directional input to unleash your extravagant fury.

Another new addition for Street Fighter 6 was the Real-Time Commentary feature which sees real-life fighting game commentators (Jeremy 'Vicious' Lopex in English and Aru in Japanese are confirmed) lending their voices to the game commentating on your fights as they happen and providing explanations about the gameplay.

Street Fighter 6 news

Final open beta announced
Street Fighter 6 will receive one final open beta. it will run May 19th until May 22nd, and will let players try out eight fighters, across a curated selection of the modes available at launch.

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