The official PlayStation blog has just been updated with extensive details on what players who have access to the beta for Street Fighter V can expect when booting it up for the first time.
When players boot the game up and go past the start screen, they’ll be taken to the character select screen. Players should choose the character they would like to fight others with, as they will not be able to select a different character before heading into battle. Once they select their character, players will be placed into training mode while an opponent is found. Upon finding an opponent, players will be transported back to the versus screen and begin their match shortly thereafter. After the match is complete, players will then be brought back to the Grid where they will go back into queue for the next match.
The post is keen to emphasize that all six currently-announced characters (so Cammy and Birdie will both be included) will be playable during the course of the beta period, this isn’t a beta that’s aimed at letting players test the balancing of each fighter. No, this one, at least, is aimed squarely at stress-testing net code for the game – something that’s more crucial to success for beat ’em ups. You only have to look at how bad Mortal Kombat X‘s online multiplayer was at launch to get an idea of that.
The first beta kicks off on July 23rd at 6:00 PM Pacific for 5 days and is exclusive to PS4 users. The primary purpose of this beta is to test the online net code, as this is something that Capcom is taking very seriously with Street Fighter V. The data that we receive from this beta will help us to improve the net code in the final product, so we thank you in advance for participating in the beta.
As a heads-up for anyone hoping to play against friends on the same console, local multiplayer won’t be available during the beta – this is all about online functionality.
Tell us, have you signed up for the Street Fighter V beta yet, or are you content with waiting until the full release coming next year?