Street Fighter V no longer shows in-game commercials

The controversial in-game commercial in Street Fighter V has been removed. As of this week, the optional commercial is no longer visible in the game. It is not clear whether the change will be permanent or whether the advertising will be replaced.

According to Polygon, this applies to all advertising in the game; the ads are gone on the characters’ two default skins, on the loading screens and the stages. However, the standard skins have not yet replaced the Capcom Pro Tour decals with the original graphics. Guile is still missing his iconic tattoos of the American flag and the character on Akuma’s back is missing. Polygon further notes that players will temporarily not be able to choose the alternate skins, numbers three through ten. Capcom has not yet issued a statement regarding the removal of the ad.

On December 11, Capcom introduced the in-game advertising. This was poorly received by the players. The appearance and placement of Capcom’s esports tournament decals was the main point of criticism. While the ad was optional, players complained that they would miss out on additional in-game money if they turned off the ads. Fight Money can only be bought with real money or earned in small amounts by playing the game. If the ad was turned off, players would not receive any additional Fight Money.

A few days after the commercial’s release, Street Fighter V’s executive producer responded to the criticism. In his response, he said that Capcom had heard the criticism, was addressing it and was investigating how it could improve advertising. That could mean that the ads will come back in a different form in the future.

Street Fighter 5 without the decals (source: Polygon)