The PS4-exclusive Street Fighter V beta launched yesterday, but fans were unhappy about the choice made about the way inviting friends was handled. Capcom has clarified the details about how the beta will work. Apparently, there is no way to invite friends into matches. All matches will be chosen at random, according to a Capcom Unity blog post.
These random matchups don’t take in account regions, either. You could play against players all over the world during the beta. Capcom insists this isn’t how the full game will work, saying that “still working on [its] location-tracking/matchmaking algorithm.” Capcom is using the beta”to get a large variety of different connections globally, so [it] can use that data to refine [its] systems.” This might explain why the beta has such specific rules about the way the multiplayer will work.
Capcom also revealed that the share features won’t be usable to save screenshots or videos during this first beta. There will also be daily server maintenance, from 11 PM PDT to 1 AM. During this time players will be unable to play.
Experience points and Fight money right now are just ‘placeholders’ as they don’t have any affect on experience as of right now. Fight Money is a new in-game currency you earn and can be used to buy DLC. Beta access is available to North American players by PSN or various retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and Gamestop. Those in Europe can enroll online to get it. The Street Fighter V beta was set to go live on PS4, July 23 at 6 PM PDT. Six characters will be available during the test, however two will not be usable at first. Birdie and Cammy won’t be added until tomorrow, Saturday July 25th. The test runs through July 28, and will be followed by a beta this fall and a third beta at a future date.