- The event will be held in mid-February in Hollywood
- It will be built around the tried and tested Street Fighter V
- SF6 might be released around the time of the event or a couple of months after that
The return of the Capcom Cup after a three-year-long break and fans are speculating when Street Fighter 6 will launch, based on previous launch dates.
Capcom Cup Is Back
The Covid pandemic over the past couple of years has dealt a big blow to some esports events and the Capcom Cup is just one of them. Fortunately for fans, the tournament is finally returning after an almost three-year-long break. The company announced that the final ride for Street Fighter V is hitting the big time in Hollywood from February 12 to 19.
Street Fighter fans will be treated to an amazing tournament featuring the best players in the world, which will participate in the most competitive brackets ever put together. The hype surrounding the event is also generating rumors that Capcom will finally announce the dates for the release of Street Fighter 6.
Fans have been starting to wonder when SF6 will finally be released. Their question only became more when Capcom announced extended dates to allow for a full in-person broadcast for the Last Chance Qualifier and the finals for the 2022 Capcom Pro Tour and Street Fighter League seasons. It is known that the upcoming Capcom Cup will be the last such event that will use SFV. But the game is also on the docket for Evo Japan 2023, which will take place from Match 31 to April 3.
Considering SFV will be crucial for the event of early 2023, it seems that Capcom wants to play it safe and have the highest level of SFV to be featured at the event. The alternative is for Capcom to surprise fans with an early-stage tournament for SF6, and considering a playable version of the game was showcased at EVO 2022, there is some credence to those speculations.
Could Previous SF Releases Point Us to When SF6 Will Launch?
During previous years, Capcom has used the hype surrounding the Capcom Cup to launch its older games, often just a couple of weeks after the tournaments, when fans’ memories are still fresh. For example, SFV was released on February 16, 2016, three months after Capcom Cup 2016 concluded on December 3. The same was true for SFIV, which was also launched in February 2009, between the 12 and the 20, depending on which region the game was released in.
Considering both previous iterations of the franchise were released in the first few months of the year, fans might expect the same to happen for SF6. The alternative is that the game will be released a few months after the Capcom Cup. This variant also aligns with Japan’s business quarters that dictate the 2023 business year doesn’t begin until March 31.
Regardless of when the game actually launches, fans will have a major tournament returning while waiting for SF6 to be released.
