After Street Fighter V launches on February 16, 2016 for PlayStation 4 and PC, Capcom will release six DLC fighters in 2016, in addition to the 16 included with the core game.
Speaking with GameSpot at Paris Games Week, Producer Yoshinori Ono and Brand Director Matt Dahlgren talked about post-launch support, with Dahlgren revealing that they plan on releasing new fighters every two months:
Street Fighter V in itself is a 16-character game. The characters that are going to be released as post launch content are not finished yet. They’re actually going to be released once they’re finished. So, we’re still working out the cadence on how quickly that’s going to happen, but what we’re working towards internally is about one character every two months. So we’ve been able to map out that we’re going to have six within the first year and plan to continue to build after that.
After confirming that there will be a second wave of new characters after the initial six, Dahlgren said Capcom has “very ambitious plans for Street Fighter V and a very long term strategy” for years to come, but the commercial success of the game will ultimately determine post-launch support.
Whether or not SFV is successful though, balance adjustments will be completely free:
For the first time in franchise history we’re going to allow all balance adjustments to be available free of charge, so we’re treating it as a platform. If you purchase the game, you’ll be able to upgrade to the content throughout its lifespan and you’re never going to be punished if you take a break from playing the game.
Asked if Street Fighter V will be the only Street Fighter game released this generation, Dahlgren replied:
This is the only disc you’ll need to own. You can upgrade to all the content throughout its lifespan. You’re never going to be forced to purchase an upgrade pack or another disc-based product. We’re focused on the initial release right now, but we do have a long-tail strategy. That could be different bundle packs, or starter packs for other people, time will tell. But we wanted to respect the early adopters and make sure we take care of them throughout the lifespan of the game.
As for Fight Money (basic currency earned through playing the game that can purchase characters and other content) and Zenny (premium currency you pay real money for to gain access to post-launch content), Dahlgren said, “It’s a system that is supposed to create long-term engagement with fans and allow them to really work towards getting content for free in the future. We’d like it to be an achievable task for just about anyone.”
Looking at cosmetic items that don’t affect gameplay, there will be a mixture of paid and earnable content, with some cosmetic items only available by paying real world money.
Addressing concerns about the recent Street Fighter V beta issues on PS4, Ono says, “We’ll do our absolute best” to ensure a smooth online experience at launch, with those betas helping them work out some kinks.
As for Xbox One owners who want to play SFV, Ono laughed and said, “There’s plenty of time to save $300 before the game comes out. The PlayStation 4 is at a very attractive price point at the moment.”
[Source: GameSpot]
