Who loves DLC? Do you love DLC? The better question is who DOESN’T love DLC! Well, Capcom has let out the details I know you downloadable content hounds are dying to hear.
Updates for the brawler will be coming on a roughly monthly schedule, as detailed in a recent Capcom blog post. The Hulk Hogan-esque Alex will be the first addition in March, and a new fighter will be similarly added in April, May, July, August, and September. We know the remaining characters will be Guile, Balrog, Ibuki, Juri, and Urien, but the release order hasn’t been confirmed. While all these radical dudes and dudettes can be purchased either individually or through a $30 season pass, Capcom has promised that every fighter will be available through “fight money” earned in-game. Exactly what it’ll take to earn those characters isn’t yet clear, but this update suggests that “playing through most of the single player content (in fact, just the Character Stories) will give you enough Fight Money to get Alex for free!”
It’s important to note that those Character Stories are distinct from the Cinematic Story that will be added to the game for free in June. “Each Character Story sheds light on the background and motivations of each individual fighter,” but won’t offer the cohesive, cinematic plot that the Cinematic Story (hopefully) will. Completing the individual vignettes will unlock unique character costumes for purchase in the in-game store.
But wait! The in-game store won’t be available at launch, either! It will come as a free update alongside the Alex DLC. Eight player lobbies and spectator options will also be a part of that update. Lobbies are two players only at launch.
While it’s easy to be cynical and sarcastically suggest that maybe Street Fighter V should be finished before release, this rollout is vastly preferable to how Capcom’s handled the fighting series in the past. Gameplay-relevant additions like new characters are earnable in-game, and even a $30 season pass is preferable to buying both the original game and another $60 Super Ultra Street Fighter V Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha Dash next year.
