After months and months of anticipation, and a mysterious countdown timer, Capcom has finally revealed Street Fighter 6. The Capcom Pro Tour finals ended tonight with an amazing match between Daigo “The Beast” Umehara and new blood Kawano, with the latter taking it in a close three to five set. Then, we got to see the Street Fighter 6 trailer. Which is more of a teaser, as it’s very short and we only get to see Ryu and the final DLC character from Street Fighter V, Luke. But there is a lot to discern from the mere 40 seconds we see.
The first thing to notice in the Street Fighter 6 trailer is the incredible graphical upgrade. Assuming we’re looking at in-game graphics, it appears SF6 may be powered by the RE Engine. Capcom’s in-house engine has powered Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil Village, and Devil May Cry 5. The art style is the most realistic the series has adopted. What is even more impressive is the level of details in the figures. Luke’s arm grows in seize as veins creep across his forearm, like in Street Fighter V, and Ryu’s chest expands and contracts as he breathes and shifts position.
Ryu’s default seems to be the “hot Ryu” version from Street Fighter V, and Luke is also sporting several facial scars he doesn’t have currently. This might indicate a move forward in the timeline of the series, perhaps even finally moving past Street Fighter III — the last game in the series’ timeline. It’s going to be very exciting to see what the rest of the Street Fighter cast looks like in this art style. Zangief flexing in this engine might actually break your TV.
More news to come later this year
There is also a distinct inkblot look — reminiscent of Street Fighter IV — when Ryu and Luke pose for their attacks. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was how supers ended up looking in the game. The trailer ends almost as quickly as it starts, ending on a rather simple logo, resembling something more akin to a Midwest hockey team logo. It is easy to fit in a Twitter profile at leastl.
It has also been confirmed via Twitter that Yusuke Hashimoto, the director of Bayonetta 2, is one of the designers for Street Fighter 6. We are supposed to hear more news later in the summer. It’s possible the timeframe will land during Summer Games Fest or EVO. We also know that the game has been in development for a while thanks to the Capcom hack last year. So a late 2022 or early 2023 release date isn’t that outside the realm of possibility.
