Street Fighter 6's Director briefly mentions how the players themselves will be in the game but suddenly gets tight-lipped
We certainly did learn a lot about Street Fighter 6 when the trailer dropped, but there's still so much we don't yet know about the game such as details about the World Tour mode. As the game is slated to release in 2023, there is still plenty of time for more information to be unveiled.
During the trailer, we saw some hooded character traveling around Metro City during what we assume to be Street Fighter 6's World Tour mode. Takayuki Nakayama, Director of Street Fighter 6, recently spoke about Street Fighter 6's development within an interview with IGN Japan. At one point in the interview, Nakayama specifically noted that "players will be in the game," implying that the hooded figure was the player avatar. As always, we had our very own Nicholas "MajinTenshinhan" Taylor handle the translations of what was said in this article.
"On the official site, we've already written about it I think, but players will be in the game," responded Nakayama when asked about this. "Well, I can't really say more than this, ha ha."
Indeed, the official Street Fighter 6 website does seemingly hint at this in several different places. From appearances, Street Fighter 6's World Tour mode feels similar to the Shenmue series, but it seems like players will be able to create their own avatar to act as the protagonist.
According to the "World Tour" portion of the website, the "World Tour is an immersive single player story mode." Additionally, we've been promised an experience that "defies genre labels." Finally, we're told that players will be able to "carve out [their] own legend on the streets."
Hopping over to the "Concept" part of the Street Fighter 6 website, it's said that "players will be able to take their skills around the world in search of their own personal strength."
"No one starts off as a champion. Even the strongest of fighters had to take that first step. Now it's your turn to take up the challenge and bring your game to the next level."
Scrolling down to the "Street" section of the "Concept" page, the website appears to talk specifically about how Street Fighter 6's story isn't just about the fighters as it is also about us, the players. With how the World Tour mode is seemingly structured, this can potentially be taken literally.
"Each player walks their own path. Whether you're looking for strength or for fun, we invite you to take your first step here and find your own way. It's time to experience the vast world of Street Fighter. This isn't just a story about the fighters, it's a story about you, the player. Find your rival, meet friends, and walk the path of a world warrior."
It's directly under this part of the website where we can click a button that leads to the "World Tour" part of the website. It is heavily implied how the part about the "player's story" is a reference to Street Fighter 6's World Tour mode.
We've already highlighted this part of the IGN Japan interview before, but Nakayama would then go on to talk about how players are able to insert their own values into the story itself. Does this mean that Street Fighter 6 will have branching morality choices?
"There's a lot of story in the mode and people who look for that, I believe will be able to insert their own values to enjoy the mode," added Nakayama.
Based on all of this, Street Fighter 6's World Tour mode is really promising to be something grander than anything previously offered as single player content in a Street Fighter title. We'll just have to wait and see how things play out with this mode as more gets revealed.
