Street Fighter 6 adds Ken, Blanka, more - details more game modes and closed beta

Capcom has shared a bevy of new details for Street Fighter 6 at Tokyo Game Show 2022, including new characters, a character creator, a closed beta, and more.

First up, Street Fighter 6 is adding characters Ken, Blanka, Dhalsim, and E Honda – news confirmed alongside word of a closed beta planned for October 7th through the 10th. You can register for the closed beta over on the game’s official site.

Here’s a rundown on all the new information:

Street Fighter 6

Street Fighter 6 continues its momentum with knockout combinations of new info on World Tour and Battle Hub, four character reveals, the new Extreme Battle mode, plus the unveil of an upcoming Closed Beta Test!

World Tour and Battle Hub

First up, major updates for World Tour and Battle Hub were announced, including:

World Tour – Players will be able to create their own avatars with a multitude of customization options to reflect their personal styles and flair. As players progress through the immersive story mode, they’ll hone their avatar’s strength through Street Fights with various NPCs and meet masters like Ryu and Chun-Li who will teach them special moves from their own repertoires. All inhabitants and opponents of World Tour never back down from a challenge, and will seamlessly transition from conversation to battle.

Battle Hub – Players can take their customized avatars into the Battle Hub, which serves as the lobby area to find matches against other players from around the world including online tournaments. When two players sit down at one of the arcade cabinets placed back-to-back throughout the Battle Hub, they can kick-off a match with the whole Battle Hub as their audience. Players can also visit the Game Center to play retro Capcom classics like Street Fighter™ II and Final Fight™.

New Characters

Second on the bill was the introduction of four World Warriors making their return to the streets:

Ken – Accusations of orchestrating a criminal plot have forced Ken, a former US National Fighting Champion and ex-VP of the Masters Foundation, to abandon his family and business to go into hiding. As a legend in the Street Fighter series, Ken packs a classic move set with new additions that keep things fresh.

Blanka – A kindhearted adventure tour guide and defender of nature, Blanka features his signature Electric Thunder and Rolling Attacks, plus brand new Blanka-chan Bombs and the return of his Lightning Beast move.

Dhalsim – A monk and yoga master, Dhalsim channels his familiar fire techniques from past games while also mastering moves like Yoga Fire, Yoga Arch, Yoga Comet, and Yoga Flame.

E. Honda – A globetrotting sumo wrestler, E. Honda combines old with new, bringing back his trademark moves like Hundred Hand Slap and Sumo Headbutt, plus his brand new Sumo Dash where he moves forward with a traditional sumo shuffle.

Extreme Battle Mode

The all-new Extreme Battle mode enters the Fighting Ground to offer a new way to spice up matches with unconventional parameters. These fast and frantic battles are defined by new Rules and Gimmicks that make every match an experience anyone can enjoy. Rules define the victory condition for players, while Gimmicks add a new level of fun such as a stampeding bull sporadically interrupting a match.

Two more commentators were also revealed for the Real-Time Commentary feature, Kosuke Hiraiwa (play-by-play commentator) and His Excellency Demon Kakka (color commentator). Kosuke Hiraiwa is a well-known esports caster who lends his expertise and professionalism to Street Fighter 6. H.E.Demon Kakka is the lead singer of Japanese heavy metal band Seikima-II. While they will commentate your matches in Japanese, there will be accompanying subtitles for any of the 13 supported languages displayed on the screen if they are selected.

Closed Beta Test

Lastly, a Closed Beta Test will take place from Oct. 7-10, 2022 on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam with cross-play enabled! The Closed Beta Test will include Ranked Match, Casual Match, Battle Hub Match, Open Tournament, Extreme Battle, Game Center, and Training Mode. Eight characters will be playable during the test including Ryu, Chun-Li, Luke, Jamie, Guile, Kimberly, Juri, and Ken.