But is pleased with the hugely positive response
It’s been an incredibly exciting weekend for Street Fighter fans, not only did we receive our first look at the colorful gameplay of upcoming release Street Fighter 6, but this official reveal was swiftly followed by a very unofficial leak, revealing what appeared to be 22 pieces of character art, with further in-game clips later surfacing on various social media platforms.
Several hours after the exciting images had been circulating on the information superhighway, publisher Capcom took to Twitter to address the leak, hinting toward it in non-too-subtle fashion. The general consensus seemed to read that Capcom was understandably frustrated about the leak, but was very pleased that the new characters, costumes, and official gameplay video had been so positively received.
“As residents of Metro City, we’ve all seen things we weren’t supposed to see, but we’re all in this together,” wrote Capcom in a message posted on the official Street Fighter Twitter. “We appreciate all the positive reactions. Thank you for the support!”
The tweet more or less suggests that the leak is accurate, something that had already long been decided by fans and those in the know.
While it is understandable that some may see this early reveal as something of a disappointment — with some in the community even referring to it as a “hype-killer” — I staunchly disagree with this. I have spent the weekend surrounded by messages of excitement and praise, including many stating that they weren’t particularly interested until they saw the roster, and are now frothing at the mouth to get to the game. The majority feedback for all of the recent Street Fighter 6 news has sent excitement for the new sequel into overdrive, just like Luke’s annoying fullscreen punches.
As I poorly explained on Twitter this weekend, this leak has not killed the hype. It has enhanced it.
No doubt we’ll be seeing more in the way of character trailers, in-game mechanics, new modes, and other features across the remainder of the year. And you can bet your sweet bippy that your boy Moyse will be on hand to cover every single part of it. Let’s just hope the Sword of Damocles is not dangling above all of our heads in the form of harsh, predatory currency mechanics or — the absolute worst-case scenario — NFT implementation.
Street Fighter 6 launches 2023 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms.
