Capcom revealed that Street Fighter VI just passed the 4 million units sale mark yesterday. The game is 1 year and 3 months old and it’s surpassed half the lifetime sales of its predecessor – Street Fighter V. Street Fighter V ended at 7.6 million units globally during its stay in starting in 2016. An incredible feat for its 37th year as a franchise. In January this year, Street Fighter VI had already crossed 3 million units. The major difference is probably the execution.
🎉 We're excited to announce that Street Fighter 6 has sold over 4 million units globally! 🎉
Thank you for playing and for helping us reach this milestone! We hope you're excited for the future of SF6 as we intend to release more content and hold more events! pic.twitter.com/VWEztf8IL8
— Street Fighter (@StreetFighter) September 5, 2024
This situation feels as if many factors are at play. The major factor is supporting three ecosystems in Street Fighter VI compared to the two in Street Fighter V. The single-player World Tour Mode in Street Fighter VI offers a more interactive experience than the A Shadow Falls story in its predecessor and is readily available at launch. Additionally, Street Fighter VI‘s recent push into major tournaments, along with a more casual approach, has lowered the barrier for beginners. The community-divisive yet welcoming Modern play style could also be a contributing factor.
The current season DLCs have also received positive feedback. Surprisingly, the initial DLC character count for Street Fighter VI is two characters fewer than the original runs of Street Fighter V, which had four additional characters per run. With SNK and Capcom’s upcoming collaboration for Capcom vs SNK 3, featuring characters like Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui, it’s hard to predict how much more impact this will have on the player base.
Street Fighter VI is currently available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).