Street Fighter 6 director Takayuki Nakayama has shared his surprise at Capcom’s decision to charge for the game’s upcoming esports tournament finals and has apologised “for any concern this may have caused”.
At last week’s Tokyo Game Show, Capcom revealed the finals for its Tokyo-based Capcom Cup and Street Fighter League 2025 World Championship would be viewable globally online only via a pay-per-view model, when usually fans can watch for free across YouTube and Twitch.
The finals for both the Capcom Cup 12 Finals and SFL World Championship will cost ¥4,000 each (around £20), or a bundle of both is available for ¥6,000 (around £30). The earlier qualifying rounds remain free.
The prices are comparable to being in the venue in-person, though prices range from ¥2,000 (£10) to ¥20,000 (£100) for SSS box seats.
The decision has been met by considerable backlash, but now the game’s director has responded on social media.
A fan asked Nakayama if it was strange that Capcom’s esports division and the Street Fighter 6 development team seem so disconnected.
“It may sound strange, but it’s true,” he said. “Revenue targets and assigned tasks differ fundamentally by department.”
He continued: “Even the development team was surprised by this announcement (At least Matsumoto and I were shocked at the venue). That said, since this matter occurred within the same company, we are currently discussing it. We apologise for any concern this may have caused.”
In a later response, Nakayama joked: “If I get scolded at work, I will delete the above comment.” Fans certainly appreciated his transparency, at least.
In response to Capcom’s announcement, one user asked: “Isn’t the whole point of Capcom Cup, CPT, and the prize pool supposed to be, y’know… marketing for the game? Why would you PPV gate that?”
Another noted the Street Fighter League Japanese Finals last year were also pay-per-view, adding “Unfortunately the rest of the world does not have japans culture. This will be the biggest pr nightmare for your brand. Good luck with that.”
The combined event will take place next year, collectively from 11th – 15th March.