Since it launched back in 2016,Street Fighter 5has experienced countless ups and downs. At launch, many fans were down on the game due to fans feeling that thegame was largely unfinishedas well as crippling server issues that severely impacted the online play. While the game missed its initial sales targets, Capcom stuck with it and slowly over time, the game has managed to turn things around. However, one longtime staffer won’t be around to continue seeing the game blossom.
Yoshinori Ono, longtime producer on theStreet Fighterseries, current Capcom brand manager, and admitted Blanka fan, announced that he’s leaving the company after 30 years. In his Tweet, Ono went on to thank the fighting game community for their support and confirmed that a new generation would continue to chart a new course for the fan favorite franchise. While a reason for his departure wasn’t given, many have begun to speculate that it’s related to his departure fromStreet Fighter 6.
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Ono has had his hand in some of Capcom’s biggest franchise fromMega Man,Resident Evil,Dead Rising,Onimusha,Devil May Cry, and more. He made his mark withStreet Fighter, however, serving first as sound manager forStreet Fighter Alpha 3before taking on the role of producer and project manager forStreet Fighter 4leading the series back to prominence after a long hiatus.
After nearly 10 years,Street Fighterwas largely considered a dead franchise by Capcom. However, Ono fought for the series to make a comeback and focus on the back to basics approach. That belief ultimately paid off asStreet Fighter 4went on to become a massive success, spawn multiple re-releases, and give way to major events like the Capcom Pro-Tour league.
While the steady hand of Ono will likely be missed in future fighting game titles from Capcom,Street Fighter 5continues to trend up. Last week, director Takayuki Nakayama and producer Shuhei Matsumotorevealed plans for the final season of content. Four out the five new characters were revealed including Dan, Rose, Oro, and Rival Schools character, Akira Kazama. The game is also getting new stages, costumes, as well as gameplay updates in the form of new battle mechanics and balances. Rumors indicate that some of this content was planned for release inStreet Fighter 6, but with that game likely getting reworked, Season 5 was put in place to keep fans engaged.
Street Fighter 5is available for PC and PS4.
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