Capcom outlines the Street Fighter 5 PC/PS4 beta schedule, detailing when cross-platform play will be available and when certain characters will be added.

When the first Street Fighter 5 beta went live on PS4, it quickly buckled under the weight of eager SF fans causing Capcom to take the whole thing offline and bring it back at another date. With those problems now out of the way, it's time to see how Capcom's servers hold up against cross-platform play, with the second Street Fighter 5 beta allowing PC and PS4 players to battle against each other.

Instead of classic characters like Ryu, Chun-Li, Cammy and lethal booger-flicker Birdie, this beta lets players take on some recently announced characters, such as tag-teaming wrestler Rainbow Mika, wild-haired warrior Necalli and Rashid, a wind-wielding fighter from the Middle East. Unfortunately, these characters won't all be available from the start, as Capcom is also using this Street Fighter 5 beta to test out their character delivery system. The following schedule details when those characters will be added to the game, when the beta's servers will go down for maintenance and when cross-platform play will begin:

  • 10/21/15 18:00 PST (10/22 02:00 BST/10:00 JST) – The second SFV beta begins for PS4 users. Characters available: Ken, Necalli, Vega, R. Mika
  • 10/22/15 14:00 PST (22:00 BST/ 10/23 06:00 JST) – Servers down for scheduled maintenance for 12 hours.
  • 10/23/15 02:00 PST (10:00 BST/18:00 JST) – Servers back online. Rashid unlocked.
  • 10/23/15 09:00 PST (17:00 BST/ 10/24 01:00 JST) – The second SFV beta begins for both PC and PS4 users (cross-platform play).
  • 10/23/15 17:00 PST (10/24 01:00 BST/09:00 JST) – Karin unlocked.
  • 10/24/15 04:00 PST (12:00 BST/20:00 JST) – Servers down for scheduled maintenance for 10 hours.
  • 10/24/15 14:00 PST (22:00 BST/ 10/25 06:00 JST) – Servers back online.
  • 10/25/15 16:00 PST (10/26 0:00 BST/ 08:00 JST) – Beta 2 concludes.

While many Street Fighter fans are glad to be able to play the game ahead of its release next year, some have taken issue with the way this beta is being conducted. First and foremost, they say that it's unfair that that the Street Fighter 5 beta will only last for two days on PC, whereas PS4 players not only have this beta to play the game but they also had the first beta and the server tests that took place before the first beta was brought back online.

Not only this, but fans also feel that the two days of cross-platform play testing just aren't enough. Cross-platform play is one of the biggest draws to Street Fighter 5, fans say, and so they want it to work well. However, with the first beta's server issues on their minds, they are concerned that two days will not give Capcom enough time to figure out if the servers are capable of withstanding the pressure. With several months still to go until the game's full release it is possible that Capcom could schedule another beta test ahead of launch, but it's unclear whether the company is considering that idea at the moment.

Source: Capcom

Street Fighter 5 will be released on PC and PS4 in March 2016.