Street Fighter 5 receives 'definitive update' featuring cel-shaded visuals

Street Fighter V Ryu Alex Punch — (Image credit: Capcom)

Capcom recently teased Street Fighter 6, as part of the series' 35th anniversary celebrations, and has now announced what will probably be the last major update for Street Fighter 5. It arrives March 29 and is described as the 'definitive update', and adds some unexpected but great-looking features: prime among them being a cel-shading filter that makes the game look absolutely gorgeous and like a descendant of the much-missed Alpha series.

There is also a pixel filter that gives the game more of a classic look, though sadly both come with a big caveat: offline play only, which is a bummer. That pixel filter, meanwhile, is a weird one, looking more like a washed-out CRT screen. Clearly we'll have to see it in action properly.

An interesting view of Ryu's assets. — (Image credit: Capcom)

This is a little bit like history repeating itself: when Capcom wound-down development on Street Fighter IV, it also added filters and the like in the final updates. The company's focus is now on Street Fighter 6, though given Street Fighter 5's somewhat troubled launch it has to be acknowledged the game is now, after years of substantial support, in a great state.

Expect more news on Street Fighter 6 this summer.

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."