Fighting games are often fraught with netcode issues, matchmaking discrepancies, and general annoyances that tend to make the online experience a pale shadow of the immediacy and excitement of IRL tournaments, or just hanging around in an arcade in the nineties. This isn’t a problem unique to fighting games, of course: Zoom calls are mince compared to spending proper time with your mates. It is what it is. Capcom however appear to have nailed many of these issues in the Street Fighter 6 closed beta, which finished on Sunday, and impressed us with its smooth, generally lag-free presentation (even managing to put in a good show over wifi), and a social space that really does feel like hanging around in an arcade, complete with actual machines to sit down at in order to challenge nearby players to bouts. It’s seriously impressive stuff, and the extensive character creator gives the whole thing a lot of charm, topped off with various shops dotted around the place where you can buy clothing and items for your in-game self. At this point, all that’s left to reveal following the Street Fighter 6 beta is the World Tour mode: a Yakuza style single-player experience which looks to be a great time for casual players and Street Fighter die-hards alike. But, given how excellent the Battle Hub is shaping up to be, we have very little doubt that World Tour is going to be something equally special. Don’t just take mine and Connor’s word for it: our resident Capcom fan and arcade preservationist Alex Donaldson thinks it’s a really good time too. Street Fighter 6 will release on PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2023.
