When I say "Street Fighter," you probably think "fighting game". That's about to change with the release of a new officially-licensed mobile game in China called Street Fighter: Duel.
Street Fighter: Duel puts players into 3v3 PVE or PVP battles featuring a mix of fighting mechanics, strategy, and card mechanics. Players must carefully select their abilities as they cut through waves of NPC enemies or the enemy player's team. As Niko Partners Senior Analyst Daniel Ahmad reports, it's going to be launching in China later this month:
The game is licensed by Capcom and developed by Ourpalm with Tencent responsible for distribution and publishing.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) November 23, 2020
It is essentially a 3v3 fighter with action, card battle and strategy fighting elements. PvE and PvP modes.
Here is the CG trailer. pic.twitter.com/zQudPONWDy
The level of hype in this game can best be underscored with the inclusion of Jay Chou as a new fighter named "Jie Ba." Mr. Ahmad rightly likens this to the inclusion of Keanu Reeves in CD Projekt Red's upcoming game Cyberpunk 2077.
You can get a better idea of Street Fighter: Duel gameplay with this beta gameplay video from Uptodown:
Header Image Credit: Uptodown
Will Street Fighter: Duel Ever Come to the West?
Street Fighter: Duel certainly seems tailor-made for the mobile-focused Chinese market: it features a popular celebrity from the country, free-to-play card mechanics, and both PVE and PVP elements. One might wonder, though — is there any chance of this game coming West?
China does get its fair share of exclusive games, often for mobile devices. These exclusives don't always stay exclusive, though — take the upgraded version of Fallout Shelter that was released in China last year. That game is now available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
More and more Chinese developers are open to bringing their games to the West, too. Take Sands of Salzaar for example, a game that dominated the top releases on Steam at the start of the year. As the game grew in Western markets, it eventually got full English support.
With the existence of Street Fighter 6 revealed via the recent Capcom leaks and the inclusion of a popular celebrity, a game like Street Fighter: Duel could make for perfect promotional material (nevermind the revenue it can bring it on its own). It might come to the West sometime in the future; for now, players are going to have to wait to play it.
Would you want to play Street Fighter: Duel? What's your favorite spin-off of a popular franchise? Let us know in the comments below!
