Street Fighter 2 is free on Steam to celebrate a new trove of Capcom reissues

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It's the original arcade version, and it's part of Capcom Arcade Stadium.

Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior
(Image credit: Capcom)

Before there was Street Fighter 6, 5, 4, and 3, there was Street Fighter 2. It was an astonishing success on its arcade release in 1991, and is arguably the reason the series still exists today. If you're not among the millions who have played it, here's good news: the original arcade version of Street Fighter 2 is free on Steam right now.

It's part of Capcom Arcade Stadium, which is basically a free container app allowing you to purchase a range of Capcom arcade classics in separate themed packs. Normally, you only get 1943 -The Battle of Midway for free with it, but if you head over to Steam and add this bundle to your account, you'll get Capcom Arcade Stadium with Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior unlocked for free.

This is well-timed for two reasons: Street Fighter 6 is coming in 2023, and this week Capcom has detailed it quite extensively, revealing its real-time commentary and open world features, as well as Guile's hair care routine.

The other reason is that Capcom announced the full game lineup for Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium today, which releases on July 22. As the name implies, this is a sequel to Capcom Arcade Stadium, and like the original, it's a free container app that lets you purchase all 32 games as a bundle, or each piecemeal. Here's the game list:

  • 1943 Kai - Midway Kaisen -
  • A.K.A. BLOCK BLOCK
  • A.K.A. KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND
  • A.K.A. MAGIC SWORD
  • A.K.A. THE KING OF DRAGONS
  • A.K.A. VAMPIRE SAVIOR - The Lord Of Vampire -
  • BLACK TIGER
  • Capcom Sports Club
  • DARKSTALKERS - The Night Warriors -
  • ECO FIGHTERS
  • Gan Sumoku
  • Hissatsu Buraiken
  • HYPER DYNE SIDE ARMS
  • HYPER STREET FIGHTER II - The Anniversary Edition -
  • LAST DUEL
  • MEGAMAN 2 - THE POWER FIGHTERS -
  • MEGAMAN - THE POWER BATTLE -
  • NIGHT WARRIORS - Darkstalkers’ Revenge -
  • Pnickies
  • Rally 2011 LED STORM
  • SATURDAY NIGHT SLAM MASTERS
  • SAVAGE BEES
  • SONSON
  • STREET FIGHTER
  • STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 2
  • STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 3
  • Street Fighter Alpha - Warriors’ Dreams -
  • SUPER GEM FIGHTER - MINI MIX -
  • SUPER PUZZLE FIGHTER II TURBO
  • The Speed Rumbler
  • THREE WONDERS
  • Tiger Road

That will arrive a month after Capcom Fighting Collection and shares some titles with that genre-specific compilation. It's a confusing way to go about things—why isn't Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium just another bundle for the original?—but I am no businessperson, and if I was, I too might make things incredibly confusing in keeping with some cryptic, perhaps even forbidden logic only available to those with business acumen. 

Shaun Prescott
Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.