As an experienced Street Fighter player, I‘ve been eagerly awaiting a chance to get my hands on Street Fighter 6 ever since its dramatic trailer reveal late last year. SF6 represents a major leap forward for Capcom‘s legendary fighting game series – built using modern Unreal Engine 4 technology and adding several gameplay innovations.
Now, a few lucky members of the FGC will get to try an early version of SF6 next month through the closed beta test! While the beta is focused on technical aspects more than content, it offers fans like us an exciting sneak peek at the future of Street Fighter.
In this guide, I‘ll tell you everything you need to know about the SF6 closed beta: how to get in, what you can expect, tips to provide great feedback, and speculation about what this means for SF6‘s full 2023 launch!
A Pivotal Moment in Street Fighter History
Let‘s start with some franchise history so you understand why this beta marks such a pivotal moment. While remaining one of gaming‘s most iconic series for over 30 years, some previous Street Fighter releases have been met with criticism:
| Game | Issue |
|---|---|
| SF3 | Too difficult, niche appeal lost fans |
| SFxT | Simplified; focus on DLC greed |
| SFV | Launched unfinished, lacking content |
With SF6, Capcom seeks to unite the community again behind a stellar new entry. To aid their lofty ambitions, they are actively incorporating player feedback from early in development – starting with this closed beta test.
Our experiences over the 4-day test in October and subsequent suggestions may directly shape SF6‘s mechanics, roster, graphics, modes and beyond before launch. It‘s special for fans to feel heard in this collaborative process!
Closed Beta Registration Explained
To have a shot at accessing the closed beta which runs October 7-10, you simply need to register on Capcom‘s website with a valid account by September 30th. Here‘s a quick guide to registering:
- Visit the Street Fighter 6 beta site
- Sign up/log in with your Capcom ID account
- Select your platform: PS5, Xbox Series X|S or Steam
- Read and accept the User Agreement
- Hope you get selected! Codes will be sent out around October 5th
Note: Due to limited space, registering does not guarantee you‘ll get in. But it takes just a few minutes, so why not try?
Hands-On With Street Fighter‘s Future
The real question you‘re probably asking is: what exactly does this beta include? Let me break down exactly what you‘ll get to try first-hand:
Playable Characters
You‘ll be able to choose from 8 fighters – 3 franchise newcomers alongside classic brawlers:
| Character | Biography |
|---|---|
| Ryu | Wandering World Warrior and poster boy seeking the ultimate fight |
| Chun-Li | First lady of fighting; lightning legs strike like a hurricane |
| Luke | Next-gen MMA prospect with a unpredictable, unorthodox style |
| Jamie | Drunken master with a love for gambling and fast hands |
| Kimberly | Ninja clad in vibrant ‘80s fitness gear who packs machine gun kick combos |
| Guile | Hard-headed military hero keen to show off his Sonic Booms and Flash Kicks |
| Ken | Ryu‘s fiery longtime friend/rival from America |
| Juri | Sadistic troublemaker who lives for inflicting suffering |
Veterans seem familiar yet refreshed while Jamie and Kimberly bring fierce new flavor to the roster based on early gameplay footage!
New Battle Mechanics
Four interesting new systems also make their debut that could shake up combat dynamics:
- Modern Meter – Builds slowly then enables powered-up EX/Super moves
- Overdrive – Momentarily unleash the latent power within fighters
- Drive Parry – Precisely time a block to set up a blistering counter
- Drive Impact – EX version of the heavy Strike blow causes a much greater stagger
I‘m supremely curious to take both classic and new characters into the lab with these mechanics!
Stages, Modes & Features
Beyond sparring matches, we‘ll be able to explore 5 charming stages, face challenging Extreme Battles, or chill out with mini-games in the Battle Hub social space. Crossplay is supported too for battling friends on other platforms.
The beta also includes a limited character customization system to alter hair, outfits and more! Plus we‘ll earn Zenny virtual currency from daily challenges that seems to suggest future microtransactions – hopefully just for cosmetics.
Now let‘s dive deeper into what expectations to set for a test beta rather than retail release…
Reality Check – It Is Just a Beta!
While an early chance for hands-on time with SF6 sparks loads of hype, this closed beta isn‘t intended as a fun demo – it exists purely to stress test systems. As such, we have to set our expectations accordingly going in.
As beta participants, we will likely encounter half-finished modes, crashes galore, wicked imbalance issues and other rough edges since this is mid-development software.
However, lacking polish now enables the development team to squash catastrophic bugs that could derail SF6 later. Capcom directly warned testers to expect less-than-smooth online play at times.
So rather than rant in frustration when you lose matches due to overpowered tactics or errors, take a deep breath and provide detailed, constructive feedback through official survey forms. We‘re essentially Quality Assurance, documenting exactly how/when problems occurred so they can be remedied!
From Beta Feedback to Potential Game Changer
While hands-on time gives us a glimpse at the future today, I believe the real legacy of this beta comes from how Capcom applies tester feedback over the next year before SF6‘s full 2023 launch.
Our bug reports, suggestions around mechanics/balancing, and quality-of-life improvement ideas may well directly shape final decisions that transform SF6 from another solid entry to an incredible genre trailblazer with mass appeal.
If Capcom closely monitors metrics and survey responses to fix issues, optimize netcode, adjust mechanics and prioritize modes smartly between now and release, SF6 could achieve its lofty ambitions of uniting fighting game fans together under one glorious banner built to last.
I will approach my participation in the beta test weekends with equal parts tempered expectations, critical thinking and hopeful optimism that our collective efforts will send Street Fighter 6 soaring to magnificent new heights when it launches next year!
To any fellow members of the FGC reading who also manage to access this early SF6 closed beta preview, I wish you good games and may your feedback help cultivate the next legendary title in fighting game history!
