Two months after the first closed beta, Capcom is once again offering access to Street Fighter 6 (opens in new tab). The game's second beta will begin on December 16 and run through December 19.

One of the lucky few who won the right to participate last time, or who gave some cash in exchange for a key, will be able to check out the new beta without having to apply again. New participants and those who were unable to participate last time will need to complete the application process. (Opens in a new tab)

Capcom does not want to repeat the shenanigans of the last beta key sale; in October, a large number of beta access keys were sold, taking advantage of the fact that many people missed out on winning. As far as I know, quite a few people ended up playing this way. This time, "due to unauthorized resale of access codes," you must already have your Capcom ID linked to the platform of your choice in order to directly access the second beta. There is also a bit of a warning against modding the beta, perhaps in response to those who managed to crack the game and keep it playable (open in a new tab) after the October beta ended.

The new beta is almost identical to the one already released. In addition to character creation (which opens in a new tab), ranked matches, casual matches, battle hub matches, open tournaments, training modes, and challenges, players can also access places like the merchandise store, game center, and DJ booth. Playable characters and stages are also the same:

Numerous bug fixes and character list fixes, but no balance changes at this time. In addition, an option to reduce input latency has been added to the graphics menu, which will shorten the gap between input and on-screen events. For us PC users, we also need to turn off Vsync and set the refresh rate to 120 Hz or higher.

I am excited that the beta is back. Especially since I was away from home during the last beta and regretted not being able to attend. I was able to play in a few fighting game tournaments over the summer and had a great time, despite my dislike of 2D fighting games. It helped that I chose a simpler control scheme, and I look forward to playing again in a few weeks. Wes also praised the "Street Fighter 6" preview (opens in new tab) in June, saying that "the lush visual style and clever new ideas stand out in a matter of minutes."

The distribution codes will be drawn, not on a first-come, first-served basis, so chances to win are until December 11 at 6:59 am PT/9:59 am ET/2:59 pm GMT.