Back in March 2022,Resident EvilandStreet FighterpublisherCapcomunveiled new guidelines for its fighting game tournaments. While at a glance these guidelines seemed fairly regular, including details around gameplay needing to be featured of Capcom games and promoters being unable to sell official merchandise as if it were their own, there were some other restrictions which caused outrage in the community. Namely,Capcom was decreasing the amount of prize pool money drastically, meaning thatStreet Fightertournaments could not offer anywhere near the same winnings to players as other eSports and fighting games could.
Now, it seems thatCapcomis going back on some of those decisions. In a recent update posted to Capcom’s blog, the company acknowledged that it could’ve handled its new guidelines better and stated that its aim was not to create the fan backlash that occurred. “We want to thank our passionate fans for the feedback we received,” Capcom said. Following listening to the feedback, theStreet Fighter 5Community License Agreement was updated, with some major changes made especially where prize pools were concerned.
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The $2,000 prize pool limit was changed to $10,000 per event, meaning thatStreet Fighter 5pro players now have more of a monetary incentive to compete. Previously, even bigger tournaments like theEvolution Championship Series or EVOwould have allowed only for a smaller prize pool, despiteStreet Fighter 5being one of the headlining games of this year’s tournament. There was also a removal of the yearly prize pool limit, meaning that organizations should hopefully feel less restricted in the amount of tournaments they can run.
Despite Capcom making an effort to improve the state of theStreet Fighter 5tournament scene, some still feel that the grassroots community is being overlooked to better support Capcom events like Capcom Pro Tour. However, withStreet Fighter 6on the way, Capcom at least need to keep its fans somewhat happy in order to support its upcoming fighting game.
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