The final character for Street Fighter V has finally been announced. Capcom has revealed that a new character, a kickboxer by the name of Luke, will join the existing roster.
During the Street Fighter 5 Summer Update 2021, the director of Street Fighter V Takayuki Nakayama and Street Fighter V producer Shuhei Matsumoto showed off gameplay of returning Street Fighter III character Oro and Rival Schools' Akira Kazama, both of which will be released on August 16 as part of the Season 5 Character Pass. At the end of the presentation, Nakaymara introduced Luke.
There is very little information about the character as of now, but Nakaymara said that Luke was a "glimpse into the future" of the Street Fighter series. This would make it seem that Luke will be playing a prominent role in the eventual Street Fighter VI and perhaps many more games to come in the iconic fighting game franchise.
Luke marks the ending of not only the Character Pass, but the beginning of the end of Street Fight V as a whole. Luke joins the previously mentioned Akira and Oro as well as series staples and fan favorites Dan and Rose as well as Eleven in the Season 5 Character Pass as DLC characters.
These five characters the total character roster of the game to a healthy 46 characters. Over the course of its life, Street Fighter V has not only been steadily receiving new content but also seen sizable improvements, something that has been seen in the game's developer as well.
Capcom has been building a good track record with games like Devil May Cry 5, Monster Hunter World, and Resident Evil 2 & 3 Remakes, but the less than favorable response to Street Fighter V and Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite at launch shows that their fighting game division needs a killer title. With the departure of series veteran Yoshinori Ono earlier this year, Luke might be the first step in a new direction for Street Fighter as a whole.
We only saw a brief glimpse of Luke and while the moves that he showcased in the trailer can give us an idea of how he will fight, we will have to wait to get a better understanding of his playstyle and character when he releases in November. Street Fighter V: Champion Edition is available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Watch the announcement trailer video below: