Will there be a Street Fighter 6 Closed Beta Test 3?

Street Fighter 6, the latest entry to the legendary Street Fighter series, is set to release on June 1, 2023. However, for fans eager to get their hands on the game, the Closed Beta Test 1 and Closed Beta Test 2 have been great ways to experience the next generation of fighting games early. But will there be a third closed beta?

Street Fighter 6 Closed Beta Test 2 ran from Dec. 16 to Dec. 19, giving eager players a weekend of furious fighting game action. So will there be another weekend in the future?

Unfortunately, there’s currently no dates or details about a Beta Test 3 for Street Fighter 6. The game is set for release in June, and it may be that we don’t see another beta before then. 

What’s more, there were rumors and allegations that the game had been cracked after Closed Beta Test 1, and players from the first beta were playing the game offline in training mode. This effectively gave them a few months extra of training, and honestly, from playing online during the beta, there were some suspiciously good players for people who’ve only had a game for four days. This might mean Capcom are hesitant to let another closed beta take place

On April 5, a Eiko Kano seemingly leaked that a Street Fighter 6 Open Beta was scheduled to launch in late April.

This would likely confirm that there is no Closed Beta Test 3, and instead, an open beta for the general public will be released. This seems like the most likely course of action, given the game's launch is now only two months away.

Esports.gg was able to get hands-on with Street Fighter 6 during the Closed Beta Test 2, and honestly, it felt polished and ready to go. The online matches were smooth, although some optimizations in graphical elements might be needed. Occasionally we felt that the game was running slower and eating processing power on a rig with a GeForce RTX 3080 and an AMD Ryzen 7. We assume that the final version will run smoother.

Street Fighter players have had over three decades to develop their timing and skills, and much of the core gameplay hasn’t changed. It’s still the same input of buttons for a Hadoken thirty years later, and while the footsies feel heavier (in a good way), it feels good that decades of muscle memory are rewarded, but the new Punish Counters, Drive Impact, and other features keep it fresh.

Street Fighter 6 is definitely on our list of most-anticipated games for 2023. Read more about it in our Street Fighter section.