Today, a new mobile game using a well-known Capcom IP has marked its Western launch: Street Fighter: Duel.
Following a pre-registration period and a promise of a February launch, the game has just met that target and is available as of now on the App Store and Google Play Store.
Those who pre-registered are eligible to receive a limited in-game Avatar Frame, arcade coins, a Fighter Mystery Pack and more. By 27 February, pre-registration had reached 5 million globally.
Into foreign markets
Street Fighter: Duel is an RPG-battler that originally launched exclusively in China. It was developed by Tencent and features both returning and original characters, Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li included. Gameplay included training characters, defeating time-limited bosses, and a PVP mode.
The game comes in five different languages and was published in Europe by A Plus Japan, meanwhile Crunchyroll Games appears to be the game’s publisher for the US.
Street Fighter: Duel is one of a batch of Tencent games making its way westward from an original China-only release, following the damage to profits due to the country’s regulations through 2022. After all, pandemic restrictions weren’t the only strict measures imposed by the Chinese government, as gaming has been targeted specifically for some time now.
2022 saw the continuation of a nearly nine-month gaming licence freeze, and even after this lifted, the new licences did not return to pre-freeze levels. There has been a crackdown on livestreaming unauthorised games too, as well as limitations on the hours in which young people can even play games.
Ultimately, all of this led to Tencent being toppled from its place at the pinnacle of Chinese businesses, losing its status as the country’s biggest company. In a clear attempt to boost its profits, Tencent revealed plans to release Street Fighter: Duel in the West in addition to Honor of Kings and Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat.
