Yep, it’s finally time: Capcom has opened the floodgates on Street Fighter V’s first public beta session! While it’s appeared at numerous events over the past year, this will give players the opportunity to try out the title themselves from the comfort of their own homes…with a few caveats.
As primarily a test of their new proprietary ‘Kagemusha’ netcode, Capcom has limited this beta to online play only. Upon starting the game, you will be asked to choose a character and immediately thrown into training mode to await a netplay opponent. After finishing up, you will continue to be placed into training mode between matches for the duration of your time with the game as it pairs you up with random opponents.
The roster will also be limited for a time. Tonight, only Ryu, Chun-Li, Nash, and M. Bison will be playable, but Capcom is ready to add Birdie and Cammy to the mix on Saturday to give their new content delivery system a spin. Sorry Ken fans, the blonde-haired fighter won’t show up this time around.
Remember, in order to take part in this beta session, you will need to preorder the title from a handful of participating retailers.
Daily maintenance is scheduled for 11 AM – 1 PM PDT, so use that opportunity to get some rest and recharge your batteries for the rest of your testing.
Of course, Capcom will also be looking for feedback from the community, which you can provide through a quick survey (Europeans, use this link) or the official Capcom-Unity thread. So feel free to jump in, test out the new game (when it lets you past the title screen, that is), and let us know what you think in the comments!