Street Fighter V gets a brand new character
And a new in-game economy.
Capcom has revealed Necalli, a brand new character for PlayStation 4 and PC fighting game Street Fighter V.
Necalli uses a "wild, animalistic" fighting style that rekindles memories of bonkers action game Asura's Wrath.
"Players who enjoy a straightforward, hard hitting character will feel right at home with Necalli, as he possesses a wide variety of savage, close range attacks, as well as a command grab, all with the goal of demolishing his foes," Capcom said.
Necalli's V-Skill is Culminated Power. He pounds the ground with both fists, creating an explosion that damages the opponent. You can control the distance the explosion travels by holding the joystick left, right or leaving it at neutral.
His V-Trigger is called Torrent of Power. Here, Necalli channels an energy that warps his hair colour and "completely changes his personality for a short period of time". While in his powered up state, he gains access to new combos, new frame data, and even a new Critical Art.
Meanwhile, Capcom announced a new "service-based" approach for post-launch content for Street Fighter V. So, the initial release is "the only disc you will ever need to own", Capcom said.
All balance and system adjustments will be available for free, and all post-launch gameplay related content will be earnable for free by playing the game.
"That's right; Street Fighter V will be the first iteration in the franchise where it is possible for dedicated players to earn all gameplay related content (such as characters) for FREE, simply by playing the game," Capcom community chief Peter "ComboFiend" Rosas wrote in a post on the Capcom Unity blog.
"Long gone are the days of forced Super and Ultra upgrades! Enjoy free balance updates as soon as they become available, and find and choose the post-launch characters that you want to get."
Street Fighter V launches with a core roster of 16 playable characters, Capcom added, with four being brand new fighters to the Street Fighter universe (Necalli is one of these).
New characters will be added to the game post-launch "on a continuous basis".
"Looking back on the Street Fighter IV series, we had always released bundles of content all at once, like with Super Street Fighter IV and Ultra Street Fighter IV," Rosas continued. Here's the thinking:
This new service-based model comes alongside an in-game economy. Fight Money is the basic currency players earn through playing the game. Once you get enough Fight Money you can use it to earn new post-launch content, such as characters. Zenny is the premium currency you'll be able to buy with real money. Capcom said it will use later beta phases to test the economy "and ensure it works in a fair way for everyone". The first online beta for Street Fighter V starts 2am Friday, 24th July in the UK.