Everything you need to know for Street Fighter 6's big open beta test this weekend
After 2 closed betas and an offline demo, everyone around the world will finally have the chance to try out Street Fighter 6 online a final time before the game launches in a few weeks.
With the open beta test for SF6 kicking off just over a day from now, we've put together a hopefully handy guide going over everything you need to know going into this weekend.
First and foremost, the beta is scheduled to go live this Friday, May 19, at midnight PDT / 3 a.m. EDT where it will run through May 21 at the end of the night, assuming there's no major hiccups.
Unlike the recent demo, the open beta still won't be available to PlayStation 4 owners, so users will have the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC to pick from as the platforms this weekend.
PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold are not needed to play the open beta online.
Players can now also pre-download the open beta client to have it ready to go when the time is right.
What's Included?
Content-wise, SF6's open beta is going to be identical to what was available to the second closed beta, so there will only be 8 characters to choose from.
Ryu, Chun-Li, Ken, Guile, Juri, Luke, Jamie and Kimberly will be the selectable roster for this final test, and there's no balance changes present over how they appeared in the second closed beta.
As for what modes and features will be available, there's the main Battle Hub with character creation / customization, Ranked Matches, Casual Matches, Open Tournaments, Battle Hub matches, Training Mode in the Battle Hub, Extreme Battle, the Hub Goods Shop, the Game Center, daily challenges and the DJ booth.
Battle Hub is the new main SF6 online mode where players can walk around a large lobby with their custom avatars, converse with / emote at other players, challenge them at arcade setups and play some classic Capcom titles.
Training Mode can also be accessed through the Battle Hub arcade machines while waiting for opponents to match up against.
Where to Start?
We have move listings and fighter descriptions for all SF6 characters (not just in the beta) on our website as well as a full beginner's guide for those trying the game for the first time.
Capcom has been releasing a series of videos on the Street Fighter YouTube channel covering the details of the beta as well as quick how-to-play character guides for everyone in the open beta (except for Ken as of the time of reporting this).
We've also got our own character guide made to help players pick which characters they'd most likely want to spend time with, which you can check out below, as well as more starter guides on the official EventHubs YouTube channel.
If you're wondering about whether you should start out with Modern or Classic controls, we've got a full guide covering both of the options, their positives and their drawbacks here.
Online ranking progress, high scores and custom avatars will not carry over into the full game, so be aware you'll need to start over again if you pick up Street Fighter 6.
If you've got any questions about the online beta or SF6 that we didn't cover here, let us know in the comments.
Otherwise, we'll be seeing you all on the battlefield.
Street Fighter 6 is scheduled to release on June 2 for the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam.
