'Street Fighter 6' is adding classic villain Akuma as a playable fighter

Street Fighter 6 is getting another playable character this spring, with series antagonist Akuma on the way.

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Akuma, first introduced as a secret boss in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, is a long-time antagonist in the series, but players will soon be able to utilise him and his deadly fists.

Last night (March 11), publisher and developer Capcom uploaded a new cinematic trailer showing Akuma training in a dark, damp cave. The aging antagonist has a different look now, with a large mane of white hair replacing his signature red.

While there may be no more red in his hair, he’s not lost it entirely. A powerful blood-red aura surrounds his fits as he easily uppercuts through the boulders crashing down on him and knocks the head off a large statue.

When Akuma arrives later this spring, players will be able to utilise his skills in Fighting Ground mode and become his student, taking on missions and seeing him as a master in World Tour mode.

Akuma will up the Street Fighter 6 roster of playable characters to 22, still under half the 45 Street Fighter 5 had by the end of its run. SF6 has only been out for nine months, while SF5 was the latest release in the series since 2016, so there’s still plenty of time for more player-favourites to be added to the latest game.

Street Fighter 6 made the top 10 on NME‘s best games of 2023 list. It’s considered a huge improvement to 5, which players felt launched in a relatively poor state.

“Coming off the heels of a poorly conceived fifth entry, Capcom managed to confidently rejuvenate its seminal fighting game series with Street Fighter 6,” we said. “Another genre-defining classic from Capcom? It’s hard to argue otherwise.”

The game also features a secret code that turns all the commentators into animals, which fans have been playing with since launch.