Capcom has added a new feature to Street Fighter 6 that is quite remarkable, but the players’ feedback has been… rather negative. The Street Fighter official account has tweeted about the Rental Fighter feature now being included in the game news section. It allows you to use the unplayed characters not just in battle modes but in almost all modes for one hour free of charge! Cool, right? You can try Akuma or Ed before you buy their Fighter Coins. But the gamers simply won’t have it. The announcement tweet is chocked with complaints so that what was supposed to be a slight positive has become a major forum for grievances about the game’s current situation.
But what exactly is the problem? The news regarding the ‘Rental Fighter’ was completely overshadowed by another part of the same update: new, premium HUD designs. And when I say premium, I actually mean that they need to be paid for with real money. This has become the main source for a lot of discontent that has been piling up.
One player after another in the replies is asking, begging, and demanding one thing: let us buy these HUDs with Drive Tickets—the in-game currency that you earn just by playing? The one that has been piling up with not much to spend it on for a lot of people? User Mathias’ comment ‘Allow us to buy the new HUDs with Drive Tickets, please :c’ and edweuss’ comment ‘It’s incredible how you guys always manage to release the worst possible update. Seriously, at least make the HUDs obtainable via Drive Tickets.’ pretty much capture the prevailing mood.
But, it is not only about the HUDs that are important. The burden of cost is a massive sore point. Sebastian alv pointed out the unequal pricing, tweeting, ‘A PNG on the screen costs the same as a costume😡😡😡.’ And they are correct. It feels unfair to many that a premium price is charged for what is essentially a cosmetic overlay—a game that has already been sold by millions at full price. User dz_sz7 even asked, ‘Is Capcom starving? Charging for a HUD? The game isn’t free to play. What are Drive tickets for?’ That last question seems to be everywhere. Drive Tickets have become a symbol of untapped potential that just sits there while the cool new stuff gets locked behind a different paywall.
Then, there is the problem of the content pace. TheBoneShackles responded with some sarcasm, ‘Lol try out what character? There have been two characters in the last year.’ It is a valid point that redirects the discussion to another layer of frustration. The rental system is good, but if the character releases have slowed down to a trickle, what real value does it add? Some, sure, but probably not as much as new characters or stages more frequently. Even the rental ticket itself got a little skepticism, with Cody saying ‘But you gave us just ONE single rental ticket. Come on!!!’ It is like the gesture is there, but it feels very small.
In the replies, the discussion even moved to other old issues. Hoko CL from New Zealand mentioned technical problems, saying, ‘Yet 2+ years later, the game takes 45 seconds to start and there are no Oceania servers in the Battle hub. Further more, you’ve got to pay for everything 😅 even PPV now. What a joke…’ So, it is a mixed bag of complaints: monetization, content speed, server issues, and so on. The rental fighter feature got caught in the crossfire of a much larger community sentiment.
It is a bizarre scenario. On the one hand, Capcom is introducing a player-friendly feature. In an isolated situation, trying before buying is almost always a good thing. But the context makes it very important. Releasing it along with the paid HUDs that everyone wants to buy with their hoarded Drive Tickets just created this negative storm. It seems like they misread the room. Players are not looking for more ways to spend money on little cosmetics; they want to have a more substantial interaction with the game they adore. As BlazinAceNelson proposed, ‘Better yet, make them unlockable via GAMEPLAY… Let people earn it through the Battle Hub or completing certain arcade story runs.’
Then, what does this mean for Street Fighter 6? The game is still a blast to play, with fighting mechanics being as solid as ever. However, the relationship between the developers and one outspoken segment of the community appears to be strained. The rental fighter update was supposed to be a small bonus gift but has instead turned out to be a reflection of some deeper issues regarding the game’s economy and content pipeline. In this respect, Capcom has a bit of a public relations job on their hands. Listening to this feedback about Drive Tickets and cosmetic pricing could be very useful. The community’s passion is evident on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.
