At the Capcom panel at EVO 2015 today, the developer announced that the forthcoming release for Street Fighter V will be changing the rules as it pertains to updates, upgrades and downloadable content.
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The Playstation blog reports that Street Fighter V will allow users to earn such upgrades, which traditionally incur additional costs, for free by playing the game. Those who want the DLC immediately will still be able to purchase them. According to Capcom, there are two types of currency in the game: Fight Money, the basic currency that players earn through playing the game; and Zenny, premium currency that players can purchase with real money to immediately gain access to post-launch content.
This model seems to draw some inspiration from popular free-to-play mobile games, which have a similar mechanic but throttle how much you can play or earn at a time to encourage fans to just buy the add-ons. Because Street Fight V will still at heart be a console game with a pretty hefty price tag to initially purchase it, it seems unlikely throttling gameplay will be an option here.
All balance and system adjustments will be available for free, and do not need to be earned.
Street Fighter V will launch with a core roster of 16 playable characters, with 4 of them being brand new fighters to the Street Fighter universe. Post-launch, we will be adding new characters to the roster on a continuous basis, which will provide new content for players to enjoy.
Street Fighter V is due in stores in March 2016.
