One of the things that Capcom has been doing lately is having the season passes for Street Fighter 5 include access to all the characters for that season. It was a way to get gamers to buy into the season pass and also support the FGC. Well, for 2019 there won't be a season pass.
The news came courtesy of a post from the official Street Fighter Twitter account, which revealed that the latest DLC character to join the roster, Kage, will not be part of a DLC bundle pack that can be acquired through a season pass. Instead, you will have to purchase Kage as a standalone entrant using either Fight Money or real currency.
It notes that there will be updates regarding the plans for future content, but no actual details about the updates were shared in the tweets.
What this means is that it's unlikely that Capcom will have a complete season's worth of new characters to add to the roster, much to the disappointment of fans. It's always possible that additional characters could be added to the game, but they won't be part of a season pass.
Now it hasn't been confirmed yet, but that likely seems to relate to the possibility that less than a handful of new characters will be launching in 2019 for Street Fighter V. But, just how many won't be launching? Will Capcom limit it to just Kage? Or will there be a second or third character in the wings? Will the company just focus on DLC costumes instead? Or will the team attempt to overhaul the in-game ads and focus on live-service content?
A lot of gamers weren't actually pleased to hear that there won't be a pass for the 2019 season. This is because it means that there won't be a lot of new characters added to Street Fighter V. But, could it mean new stages? New moves? Or other new features?
In one of the latest updates featuring Kage, a few of the characters actually did receive some new special moves. This could be what the game aims for going forward, focusing on the current content and adding new features to flesh out what's already available.
Alternatively, a lot of gamers have been suggesting that Capcom take a page out of Star Citizen's book and add a developmental roadmap for the public to peruse so they at least know what's coming down the pipeline. To keep some things a bit mysterious, the team could always add question marks over the icons and only inform the community that a new character or new stage is coming without revealing the details.
It would actually be a nice way to keep gamers engaged and focused on upcoming updates. However, Capcom seems to be playing it close to the chest, much like how Epic keeps people in the dark with Fortnite, and not everyone is keen on this approach to the game. Following the implementation of the in-game ads and the lack of a season pass, I think gamers are more worried and wary than they are excited and thrilled about the future of Street Fighter V.
