Capcom has announced that the 2025 Capcom Cup 12 Finals and the Street Fighter League 2025 World Championship will be streamed globally via pay-per-view, marking a significant shift from past years when the same fixtures were freely viewable.
Starting March 14, 2026, Street Fighter fans will need to purchase virtual tickets to watch the live finals. The developer confirmed the change in a September 28 X/Twitter post, specifying that free replays of matches are intended to drop one week later.
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Depending on the ticket tier, prices for the pay-per-view stream range from ¥4,000 and ¥6,000 (approximately $27–$40 USD).
Fans push back against paywall
Unsurprisingly, the shift from free to pay-per-view triggered backlash from fans. The announcement on social media was met with an overwhelmingly negative reception.
It’s worth noting that Capcom already adopted the same pay-per-view model in Japan in 2024, so introducing the same model overseas isn’t as spontaneous as it may initially seem.
The countdown begins. Tickets for #CAPCOMCUP12 drop soon on Oct. 10!
Starting this season, CAPCOM CUP 12 Finals (Mar.14) and SFL: World Championship (Mar. 15) will stream live via Pay-per-view. Free replays will drop Mar. 21 (CC12) & Mar. 22 (SFL:WC). *Pay-per-view tickets will… pic.twitter.com/CrPI1EzXSq
— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) September 28, 2025
However, several users suggested that Capcom, as a Japanese company, hasn’t taken into account cultural differences between the two markets. “Unfortunately, the rest of the world does not have Japan’s culture. This will be the biggest PR nightmare for your brand,” one user said.
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Fighting game content creators have been similarly outspoken. YouTuber Maximillian Dood released a video on September 30 titled “Capcom…what are you doing?!”
While backlash towards the company as a whole will be inevitable, Max said that the decision had “Nothing to do with the Street Fighter development team, although they’re probably going to be getting an earful over all of this stuff after the weekend is over.”
Assuming concerns don’t result in any changes to the pay-per-view model, it remains to be seen how they’ll affect viewership for future events.
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