March Street Fighter 5 update adding new character, challenge mode, rematches

The next update for Street Fighter 5 will launch Monday, March 28, bringing with it a raft of additions and changes.

The update will be released in two parts: a major component on March 28, and a smaller patch on March 30. The initial patch contains the real meat of the update, with challenge mode leading the charge brandishing a suite of combat tutorials and trials.

There will be 12 beginner tutorials, 11 intermediate, and four advanced, on top of 16 character-specific combo trials. Completing combo trials will reward Fight Money.

An online rematch option will also be added on March 28, allowing players to arrange best-of-three follow-ups on the fly in ranked and casual play. Both players must accept the rematch. Additionally, Battle Lounge will receive yet another basting of improvements, namely eight-person lobbies complete with spectate mode.

On March 30, playable character Alex and his story content will be added, alongside the skeleton for the Street Fighter 5 in-game shop. DLC characters and story mode costumes will be purchasable with Fight Money, an in-game currency, as well as real money, or Zenny. However, Zenny will not be integrated until later this year.

“We have taken a long hard look at this part of the store,” Capcom said in a blog post, “and after much review, have decided it is not ready to launch just yet. As Zenny is purchased with real money, we wanted to be extra careful and make sure it’s fully tested and optimized before launching it. There is currently no ETA on the Zenny store and we will release it as soon as it’s ready.”

In the meantime, Alex will be available to all players as part of a pre-Zenny free trial. When the Zenny shop is released, players will need to officially purchase Alex and other DLC characters via Zenny, Fight Money or a season pass redemption to continue accessing them.

Source: Capcom