Street Fighter V Gets A Free Week To Test Online Systems

Today, Capcom announced PC players will have a free week to test the brawler fighting game, starting on the 28th of March, 9pm GMT. Available on Steam and only featuring online modes, Street Fighter V's trial is meant to test new features and enhancements coming to its Capcom Fighters Network (CFN) online experience.

For existing players, here is a list of improvements and new features coming to the new CFN:

• Matchmaking Improvements: For most players, it will take less time to find an opponent in online matches. Matchmaking logic will help players avoid being frequently matched with the same opponent.
• Ranked and Casual Match Loading Times: There will be a shorter transition when going into a Ranked or Casual match.
• Interactive Timeline: On the new CFN home menu, a live feed of Friends’ activities will be presented on an interactive Timeline. Using the Timeline, players can immediately add a recent match to their Replay List, view a Fighter Profile, manage Friends, and adjust Timeline display settings.
• Friend Management System: In addition to adding someone to Favorites, players can now blacklist players or add friends and follow them on CFN.
• “Rage Quit” Penalty System: Special “rage quit” player profile icons will appear on profiles with frequent disconnections. Matchmaking logic will take into account online behavior and frequent disconnectors will be matched with similar opponents.
• Training Mode – User Settings Saved: Training Mode settings will be saved and will carry over to the next time the mode is accessed.
• Battle Lounge Country Flags: Country flags will appear in Battle Lounges, allowing players to locate competition in their region.
• Country / League Based Rankings: Players will be able to filter leaderboards based on Country or League.
• In-Game Announcer Voice: The in-game announcer will provide players and opponents with stats using data pulled from the server.
• Fighter Profile Stats: More detailed stats will be tracked and presented on Fighter Profiles.

Once the new CFN is optimised after the free week is through, the system will make its official debut on both PS4 and PC. A proper release date is TBA.

Street Fighter V is out now on PC and PS4, and the free week starts on the 28th of March at 9pm London time.