Street Fighter 6: SF6 release date on Steam, PS5 and Xbox One, game pre orders, price - and game modes

Attention, fighters and button mashers of the world! Prepare to don your gi and stretch those thumbs, because a new Street Fighter game is on the horizon

The legendary fighting game franchise is back with a vengeance, ready to unleash a barrage of epic combos and bone-crushing uppercuts, and give us all another chance to test our skills, break our controllers and blame lag for our crushing defeats.

The new game promises to bring fresh features, characters and jaw-dropping visuals. So mark your calendars, stock up on energy drinks and warn your neighbours about the impromptu yelling matches that are about to ensue. Street Fighter is back. Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is Street Fighter 6?

Street Fighter 6 the eagerly anticipated seventh instalment in the renowned Street Fighter franchise. Since its inception in 1987, the long-running series of fighting games has had a significant impact on the genre as a whole, and has become a cornerstone of the fighting game community, leaving an indelible mark on the industry.

The series introduced several elements that revolutionised the fighting game genre, including the concept of special moves, such as fireballs and uppercuts, which became synonymous with the genre and laid the foundation for future games.

Street Fighter also popularised the use of six-button controls, which allowed for a wider range of attacks, increasing strategic depth and adding a layer of skill and mastery, making the gameplay both challenging and rewarding.

Street Fighter's competitive nature also played a crucial role in shaping the fighting game community. The series introduced head-to-head multiplayer, where players could face off against each other in intense battles, and the arcade culture of gathering around a cabinet to challenge opponents created a vibrant community and competitive scene.

The series has consistently delivered high-quality games with each new instalment, maintaining the core gameplay mechanics while introducing new features, characters and improved visuals. The iconic roster of memorable characters, such as Ryu, Chun-Li and Ken, has become ingrained in gaming culture and holds immense nostalgic value for many players.

What happens in Street Fighter 6?

Street Fighter 6 introduces three primary game modes: Fighting Ground, World Tour and Battle Hub.

Fighting Groungd will be the one most familiar to Street Fighter series fans, retaining the beloved 2D fighting mechanics seen in previous entries, where two fighters engage in intense combat utilising a diverse range of attacks and special abilities to defeat their opponents.

It also encompasses various gameplay options, including local and online versus battles, training sessions and arcade modes.

World Tour presents a single-player story mode, where players take control of a customiseable avatar on an adventure through 3D environments, including iconic Street Fighter locations such as Metro City and the fictional nation of Nayshall. Action-adventure gameplay mixes with battles against the characters you encounter as you move through these landscapes.

Battle Hub serves as an interactive online lobby, integrating the customiseable player avatars from the World Tour mode and allowing them participate in ranked or casual matches, showcasing their skills against other players' character creations. Nostalgic players can even enjoy classic Capcom arcade titles in this lobby.

Street Fighter 6 also introduces a real-time commentary system designed to enhance the tournament-style atmosphere of the game by incorporating English and/or Japanese commentators who provide live commentary while watching the action unfold.

The system includes eight commentators, divided equally between two types of commentary - play-by-play and colour commentary (the latter being optional) - with one of the English-language commentators being voiced by WWE's Zelina Vega.

When can I play Street Fighter 6?

Street Fighter 6 is set to be available on various platforms including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S from Friday 2 June 2023. Additionally, an arcade version is scheduled to be released in Japan later this year under the title, Street Fighter 6 Type Arcade.

Where is the best place to pre-order Street Fighter 6?

Minecraft Legends can be pre-ordered from Game.co.uk, where a Steelbook Edition of the game is available for £59.99

Simply click on the relevant link below to be taken to the platform of your choice:

• PlayStation 4
• PlayStation 5
• Xbox One & Xbox Series X/S

For PC players, the game can be purchased through Street Fighter 6’s Steam page.

Game are also offering a Collector's Edition of the game - which comes with action figures, an art book and much more - for £249.99.

Note: Xbox’s ‘Smart Delivery’ feature means there is just one ‘Xbox’ version of the game to look out for if you’re looking to buy it physically - the game will automatically detect whether you’re using a current or last-gen Xbox console.

But PlayStation players will need to make sure they buy the correct physical version of Street Fighter 6, and since there is no Smart Delivery feature there, if you one day wish to upgrade the PS4 version to its PS5 counterpart, you may need to buy the game all over again!