UPDATE:Capcom just announced that the first DLC character for SFV will be available in March. Not a surprise but nice to have the confirmation.

Capcom just put up another blog, this time detailing the super-secret beta phase 4 and both story modes for SFV. http://www.capcom-unity.com/combofiend/blog/2016/01/25/street-fighter-v-story-details-and-final-beta

Beta Phase 4

• Starting 01/30 12:01 AM PST
• Ending 01/31 7:00 PM PST

Story Mode(s)

SFV will launch with a more traditional story mode but it will be punctuated with artwork by Bengus(!), probably most well know in fighting games for his amazing MvC2 illustrations. Later, as a free DLC update in June, Capcom will be releasing their cinematic story mode. It appears to be in a similar style to the story modes in NetherRealm's most recent games, and will bridge the narrative gap between SFIV and SFIII. They've released a trailer that is supposed to be full of hints so happy sleuthing if you're so inclined.

Fucking hype.

Oh man I'm way on board with this new SFV beta

Who is the buff dude in the command center near the beginning of the trailer? Also, I'm getting a very Winter Soldier-ish vibe from the Nash/Guile angle, like "you abandoned me to my fate/now you must die" type thing. I dunno, maybe I'm just imagining that.

So this is how the game is getting pushed out before the Pro Tour? That's cool. I'm fine with that, and maybe this'll give reason for casual players to come back to the game.

And more beta tests are always welcome.

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan, that looks good. As big of a bummer as it is that we won't have access to this here content at launch, I'm overjoyed that we're eventually getting a story mode in the vein of the more recent Netherrealm games, as those really were the main reason for why I got drawn back into fighting games after a considerable hiatus.

The decision to make this free DLC is very smart, as well, as after a couple of months of release, I imagine that such an elaborate thing will draw the majority of the player base back in. Hopefully, they'll have released some of the DLC characters as well by then, so we might get some Guile and Alex in the actual story-mode.

If you are, then you're not alone in doing so, a lot of people have been making assumptions along those lines, myself included.

If you pause the last few frames at 0:47 when it zooms in to Cammy's eye, there's a reflection of someone but I can't figure out who

I guess they took some notes from Netherrealm.

Inception noises everywhere.

@starvinggamer: I've read that it might be Decapre.

@sanj: Yeah once someone showed me that Decapre's new mask has three horizontal purple lines for eyes I figured it out.

"If you have been on the fence about getting the game, this will be your last chance to try it out before release so be sure to pre-order at streetfighter.com/purchase for beta access"

I'm not sure if that's a translation error, or just the dumbest sentence i've ever read. " Hey guys! not sure if you want to buy the game? Well try out the beta! All you need to do is buy it first...." ;-0

@oursin_360: Amazon preorder = $0 down cancel any time, and pretty much every other place you can preorder at will turn your $5 down or whatever into store credit if you decide not to buy.

Beta is up if people weren't aware.

@starvinggamer: I wasn't able to get B+HK to link after EX Fire, so this is the best I came up with in the interrim, then my hands immediately fell asleep:

Watching Art's stream of the Beta.

Rush down Sim is a sight to be hold and very weird.

Been playing Karin this beta and really liking her. Rollback is being awful though and apparently I'm not the only one affected. I heard if you turn off crossplatform play it helps but haven't had a chance to check.

Fucking so busy today and tomorrow when am I gonna play this beta AUUUGHGHGHGHGHHG

Pity chat is broken in UPF, really want to just throw out there "for everyone who thinks the lack of a cinematic story mode, did you really think it would be great?" Also there is going to be a story mode at launch, it's the cinematic story mode that won't be in till June.

@fredchuckdave: Looks like they might have taken that link out.

EDIT: Man, controlling sim on a hitbox is real tough, gonna take a long time for me to get used to this I think

@l1ghtn1n:

I'm pretty sure this is exactly the same as beta 3 honestly. Nash is in a good spot but man I would love to see the return of other air normals being able to follow up his v-skill than HK and being able to special cancel s.MK returning would be great too. Then again, he still to me is one of the stronger characters in the game.

I made nearly 2k points as Nash and switched over to Laura to shake things up. She's damn fun but she's a lot harder to play than Nash. Her relentless pressure is reliant on a lot better execution and mind games and I find she has a bit more trouble with fireballs compared to a lot of the cast. Though I still chalk that up to me not utilizing her fireball well enough. Still great fun but I've lost over half my points losing with her hah.

Just gonna leave these here...

@starvinggamer: You could be reductive about a lot of omega mode characters and make that association. David has an axe to grind.

I was always one of those softies who played fighting games primarily against the CPU, but playing online is fun! Less stressful than I always expected it to be.

@baronsamedi: Dunno what ax that's supposed to be.