Hey there Legend! Just to bring to your notice that some links and ad banners on this page are affiliates which means that, if you choose to make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We greatly appreciate your support!
Street Fighter 6 Director Blindsided by $40 Capcom Cup Paywall, Fans Outraged
October 5, 2025Street Fighter 6 director Takayuki Nakayama says he was “shocked” to learn that Capcom is charging up to $40 for fans to watch the Capcom Cup 12 and SFL World Championship finals online next year, a move announced without input from his own dev team and now fueling widespread community backlash.
Capcom dropped the bombshell during the Tokyo Game Show, revealing that both the Capcom Cup 12 Finals on March 14, 2026, and the SFL World Championship on March 15, 2026, will stream exclusively via pay-per-view. Watching either final separately will cost fans ¥4,000 (about $27), or they can grab both for a bundle price of ¥6,000 (roughly $40). The free streams won’t be made available until a full week later, on March 21 and 22, respectively.
The countdown begins. Tickets for #CAPCOMCUP12 drop soon on Oct. 10!
— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) September 28, 2025
Starting this season, CAPCOM CUP 12 Finals (Mar.14) and SFL: World Championship (Mar. 15) will stream live via Pay-per-view. Free replays will drop Mar. 21 (CC12) & Mar. 22 (SFL:WC). *Pay-per-view tickets will… pic.twitter.com/CrPI1EzXSq
“Shocked at the venue”: The Devs Were Out of the Loop
The dramatic pivot toward a PPV (pay-per-view) model seems to have caught even Capcom’s top Street Fighter minds by surprise. Responding to fans on X (formerly Twitter), Nakayama confirmed, “Even the development team was surprised by this announcement (at least Matsumoto and I were shocked at the venue).”
Street Fighter 6 producer Shuhei Matsumoto only heard the news at Tokyo Game Show, too, with the development and esports departments seemingly operating in silos. Nakayama explained, “Revenue targets and assigned tasks differ fundamentally by department.” He admitted how strange the disconnect appeared to fans but insisted, “It may sound strange, but it’s true.”
He also pledged that internally, Capcom was now “currently discussing it” after witnessing the strong reactions, and apologised for any concern caused. But the initial approach, excluding the very faces of the franchise from the conversation, has left fans and developers alike questioning who’s really calling the shots.
Community Sees Paywall as a Betrayal
For fighting game fans who’ve come to expect open access and global hype, the idea of locking finals behind a $40 paywall landed with a thud. The announcement’s timing is especially jarring as Street Fighter has long championed accessibility and community-driven marketing around its top tournaments, often leveraging them to sell merchandise and build buzz.
The backlash on social media was nearly immediate. One frustrated fan asked, “Isn’t the whole point of Capcom Cup, the Capcom Pro Tour and the prize pool supposed to be… y’know, marketing for the game? Why would you PPV-gate that?”
Economic realities weren’t lost on followers either. User Raxyz pointed out the irony of pricing out South Americans only a year after the Cup’s biggest underdog story featured 15-year-old Chilean player Blaz taking second place. “Cool of you guys to price out South America exactly one year after the biggest story of the Cup was a Chilean prodigy surprising everyone,” they wrote.
Several noted that Japan has a culture of paid streams for esports events, with SFL Japan finals already adopting this model. But Capcom’s global strategy might be backfiring. User DubC warned, “They did this for SFL Japan finals last year, and this seems to be a normal/accepted thing in Japan. Unfortunately, the rest of the world does not have Japan’s culture. This will be the biggest PR nightmare for your brand.”
Emezi Okorafor echoed the concern: “Street Fighter cannot survive on Japan alone. The rest of the world needs to be catered to as well, and this will hurt the growth and reputation outside of Japan.”
The disconnect between Capcom’s regional esports approach and the expectations of its global fanbase is now in sharp focus. Many worry that monetising the finals could push away parts of the community that make the scene vibrant in the first place. Capcom has yet to indicate if it will revisit the paywall decision, but with internal discussions underway and public relations taking a hit, the publisher is now under intense pressure to respond.
Share this:
While games are fun, it’s highly important to note that there’s more to life than sitting countless hours playing video games – there’s a purpose and more to life; seek out that purpose more often!
