Capcom has shared proper gameplay of Akuma, the final DLC fighter for Street Fighter 6‘s Year 1 Character Pass, and confirmed a release date too. However, this also means the future of Street Fighter 6‘s DLC is looking nebulous, with no mention of a second season of fighters.
Let’s focus on Akuma for now. Unsurprisingly, he looks great in gameplay, once again offering a more brutal take on Ryu’s fighting style. He may look much older, with his formerly flaming red hair now a ghostly white (he does have a costume that reverts to him his original design), but he remains as vicious and unrelenting as ever. He even immediately attacks your custom character when you find him in Street Fighter 6‘s World Tour mode.
All of Akuma’s classic moves are back, including the ability to warp from one side of the stage to the other and his iconic Shun Goku Satsu (also known as the Raging Demon) attack. While it functions identically to how it did in previous games, its visuals have been radically altered. Beforehand, the attack took place in pitch blackness, meaning you couldn’t see what Akuma did to his opponent. Now, though, the screen goes black and white as he unleashes a relentless assault of blows before summoning what looks like a hundred copies of him that all crash down on the opponent.
Akuma will be added to the game on May 22, with him available immediately for anyone who’s already bought the Character Pass. A new stage called Enma’s Hollow will arrive too, but only for those who own the Year 1 Ultimate Pass. Lastly, there’ll be a major balance patch on the same day that will introduce changes to every character in the game. Capcom will be sharing more details on that at a later date.
The inclusion of Akuma is undeniably exciting, but now fans are left to wonder what Capcom has planned next. Akuma serves as the last confirmed DLC character for Street Fighter 6, following the additions of Rashid, A.K.I., and Ed over the last 10 months. While there’s nothing official, Capcom likely has a second year of DLC planned that will add even more characters to the game; the real question is who they’ll be.
It’s honestly hard to predict since there’s still a tremendous amount of fan-favorites still absent from Street Fighter 6, such as Sakura and Sagat, but Capcom could also introduce entirely new characters to the roster. With any luck, Capcom will have something to say about Street Fighter 6‘s future in time for the game’s one year anniversary in June. If not then, then at the Evo 2024 USA event in Las Vegas, which will run from July 19 to July 21.
