In the past, Capcom has re-released titles that gamers have to buy again for content updates, but the company recently announced a “service-based approach” for Street Fighter V content released after the initial launch of the game.
Capcom stated that gamers will only have to purchase one disc and can obtain “balance and system adjustments,” as well as extra gameplay content for free. For example, while Street Fighter V will debut with 16 playable characters, Capcom will add more characters post-release. These characters will be free for gamers to earn simply through playing the game.
Addressing their prior method of bundled content releases, Capcom stated that “while these one-time updates did revive interest in the series every few years, it was difficult to keep players engaged for long periods of time unless they were competitive. This also punished players who took a break from playing the game, because if they wanted to start again in a few years, they would be forced to purchase an upgrade to join the existing player pool who had already moved on to a new version. On top of that, this old method also forced players to purchase all of the new content, even if only a few characters may have appealed to them.”
Additionally, Capcom believes that releasing a steady stream of new content as opposed to widely-spaced bundles will keep anticipation levels up. Content does not need to be earned or bought in bulk, either. Capcom is releasing two types of in-game currency, Fight Money and Zenny. While Fight Money can be earned by playing Street Fighter V, Zenny is a microtransaction currency that can only be obtained via real money purchases. Zenny gives gamers instant access to post-launch material.
Here’s one of the new Street Fighter V characters:
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