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Capcom, by way of the PlayStation Blog, announced today that Street Fighter V will make use of a freemium style system for unlocking new content in the game. In essence, this means that as new content is released for the game, you can either pay a fee to unlock it immediately for use or you can unlock it simply by playing the game.

To those thinking that this is a terrible model, you must keep in mind that Street Fighter IV was a $60 game at launch. Afterwards, Capcom released three additional content packs and upgrades that totaled an additional $70. When you compare this current Street Fighter V model with what happened with Street Fighter IV, you begin to realize that it's a huge step in the right direction.
First and foremost, Street Fighter V will feature a brand new service-based approach with regards to post-launch content. With this approach come several key changes to our content strategy:

1. The initial release is the only disc you will ever need to own
2. All balance and system adjustments will be available for free
3. 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. 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.

Capcom notes that the initial game will launch with 16 playable characters, four of which are new to the franchise. After launch, new characters will be added 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. While these one-time updates did revive interest in the series every few years, it was difficult to keep players engaged for long periods of time unless they were competitive. This also punished players who took a break from playing the game, because if they wanted to start again in a few years, they would be forced to purchase an upgrade to join the existing player pool who had already moved on to a new version. On top of that, this old method also forced players to purchase all of the new content, even if only a few characters may have appealed to them.

This new system also means that you can strive to unlock only the content that you want. If there is a new character you don't care to have, you don't have to pay for them or work to unlock them at all. How exactly will this system work? Well, it's really quite simple.
We are able to execute this service-based model by introducing an in-game economy to Street Fighter V. There are two types of currency that make the economy go round:

• Fight Money - This is basic currency that players earn through playing the game. Once players accumulate enough Fight Money, they can use it to earn new post-launch gameplay content, such as characters, for free!

• Zenny - This is premium currency that players can purchase with real money to immediately gain access to post-launch content.

We will be using later beta phases to test the economy and ensure it works in a fair way for everyone.

I must say that this is a great move for Capcom and should be good news to fans of the series.
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