Street Fighter V: 8 years later, Capcom apologizes for the disastrous launch of the game

Street Fighter V made headlines upon its original release. While players praised the combat system, the lack of content and other issues earned it hundreds of criticisms from the community and the press. Now, 8 years later, Capcom reflected on the controversial launch of this game.

The fighting title debuted on February 16, 2016, surrounded by controversy. Players criticized technical issues, connection errors, the graphics, and the lack of substantial content.

Fortunately, Capcom stayed committed and addressed many of the issues through updates that expanded the combat system, added additional characters, and introduced new game modes. Now, they celebrated the game's 8th anniversary with an apology and a reflection.

Capcom talks about Street Fighter V and its controversial launch

In a post on the game's Japanese account, the developers were candid and acknowledged that the early years of Street Fighter V were very challenging. They emphasized that the team worked hard to improve the state of the game.

"From the beginning to the middle, there were network issues, little content, etc. We are very sorry that the content did not meet the expectations of many of you. From the middle to the end of the game, the development team reflected a lot and worked hard to solve the problems as much as possible," reads the message.

Next, the company points out that Street Fighter V added new mechanics and concluded its cycle with a total of 45 fighters, a significant increase from the original roster of 16 characters. Thanks to these efforts, the player count increased significantly starting from Season 4. According to the statement, there are still thousands of people playing this title.

Finally, Capcom thanks the community and states that, above all, the lessons learned from this controversial video game were applied in the development of the franchise's latest installment, which debuted in 2023 with great success.

Specifically, Street Fighter 6 arrived in stores with a larger character roster and additional game modes, including the World Tour. Thanks to the abundance of available content and its deep combat system, it received almost universal praise from casual players, fighting game experts, and specialized press.

To provide context, SFV holds an average rating of 77 on Metacritic, while SF6 has a score of 92.

But tell us, are you a fan of the 5th installment? Let us know in the comments.

Street Fighter V is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.