Street Fighter 6 Tournament Rule Change Has Hitbox Users Up In Arms

Ahead of the release of Street Fighter 6 in June, Capcom has outlined a rule change to leverless controllers that’ll have a major impact on future Capcom Pro Tour tournaments. Capcom’s new rule says that if a player inputs up and down directions at the same time, then both inputs must either be maintained or rejected.

“The new rule we are putting forth below is designed to ensure all leverless controllers operate to a universal standard regardless of make or model at Capcom-sanctioned events,” the Street Fighter 6 developer said in a blog post. “With this in mind we’ve decided to make the following change. If up and down directions are input at the same time, both inputs must be maintained or both inputs must be rejected.”

What this means is that Capcom is essentially leveling the playing field. Leverless controllers, and especially those manufactured by Hitbox, give players a major advantage in matches, allowing them to perform certain moves more quickly than competing players who use standard fightsticks or controllers.

As its name implies, the joystick on a leverless controller is replaced by a series of buttons for directional inputs, giving those players a sizable advantage for pulling off techniques that normally require extra motion with a joystick. You’ll often spot professional players in fighting game tournaments using these devices, and the existence of the Hitbox and leverless controllers from other manufacturers is a polarizing subject in the community. For a more technical breakdown on why Hitbox players are up in arms about the rule change, VG247 has a detailed explanation of the situation.

Some call it a cheater’s box–just look at the replies to Capcom’s tweet about the rule change–while others consider it a necessary piece of hardware to become proficient with if you want to make an impact in tournaments. Hitbox has already released a press statement in which it says that it is developing a “solution” to comply with Capcom’s rules, and it has also mentioned that Capcom and Street Fighter “do not represent the community” as a whole.

While it remains to be seen if Capcom’s rule will be adopted at other tournaments or by other fighting games that also host global events, the reality is that Capcom is generally seen as a trendsetter in this space and can comfortably set a precedent for other brands to follow if they choose to do so. Street Fighter 6 is also shaping up to be the most approachable game in the series, as it features three distinct control schemes.

The Classic control scheme is an old-school setup, the Modern Control Type allows for easier inputs where a special move can be performed by combining a special move button with a single directional input, and the Dynamic Control Type is an AI-assisted feature that ensures that you’ll always use the best move possible depending on your positioning in a level. While Dynamic controls are only available in local play, Modern controls will be allowed in online play.

Street Fighter 6 will launch on June 2 for PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X|S, and for more details, you can check out GameSpot’s feature on everything that we know about Street Fighter 6.