Street Fighter 6 Game Modes: Everything for Everyone

SF6 just exploded in the FGC and the gaming community in general. Many absolute beginners to the genre got interested in this title and experienced a lot of fun thanks to the Modern controls. Many players from other fighting titles explore everything Street Fighter 6 has to offer for their skills and tastes. 

A big part of this initial success is the variety of game modes. It’s a lesson the developers have learned well after the shaky release of SFV.

On the one hand, SF6 game modes are pretty straightforward, and many gamers prefer the usual way of exploring them — check out what you have on the menu and try out a bit of everything. But on the other hand, a clear explanation of game modes in Street Fighter 6 might help you find something unusually interesting or discover some awesome opportunities.

And here we are, with an SF6 game modes guide.

For general information about this game, check out DashFight’s Review of Street Fighter 6.

SF6 Game Modes Trailer

World Tour — Solo Adventure

Accessibility is a pretty strong focus for the SF6 developers. We’ve already mentioned the Modern Controls — yep, it’s a great feature that saves beginners from the struggle of performing such difficult moves as Shoryuken, 623P. The World Tour mode is another brick in this beginner-friendly construction. 

World Tour is a classic gaming adventure. You create an avatar, having tools for making almost any fantasy about their appearance real. Then, you start your fighting course with Luke as a coach. After an initial match against your classmate and rival (didn’t you know you have one?), you are ready to step outside the dojo and fight people on the streets.

In the World Tour mode, your character meets all sorts of NPCs and can surely fight them. A great thing about these matches is that you get introduced to various SF6 mechanics step by step, so you become a better player while developing your digital character. Opponents in Metro City and other locations have a good spectrum of abilities, and dealing with them is a pretty valuable experience. Becoming a student of Legendary Fighters helps you learn the art of fighting even deeper.

It is just fun to play the World Tour, even if its locations are not as big as in other games — but it doesn’t try to copy those primarily RPGs. The goal here is to get to know SF6 in the most accessible way possible.

Please, start playing Street Fighter 6 from this mode. It is something new and exciting even for long-term series fans.

Fighting Ground — a Classic Package

Street Fighter 6 stores all sorts of traditional modes in the Fighting Ground section. 

Arcade

This mode is as classic as it could be. Street Fighter has (kind of) introduced it to the world with the first games, and the series sticks to this way of telling the story and entertaining/training the players in the latest installment too.

The Arcade mode offers you a series of vs AI matches with illustrative cut scenes. Choose a character and follow their adventure.

The developers managed to make AI in SF6 pretty clever, so it’s really interesting to play against the computer. Beginners can explore their abilities beyond the World Tour. Experienced players can train, warm up, or try out new characters.

For a deep dive into the SF6 story, check out our article The Definitive Timeline of the Iconic Fighter. However, story modes (and solo adventures) are never the main thing in fighting games. To experience the genre properly, you need to step beyond Arcade.

Practice

This mode seems like not a lot of fun. But it’s an essential place to visit for every SF6 player who wants to feel the fun of winning multiplayer matches and just be a decent opponent in them.

The Practice tab has a few options:

• Training — a place where you can test new tricks and practice something you’ve learned. It’s a lab for all sorts of experiments. Just set conditions (if needed) and make yourself a better player.
• Tutorials teach you the very basics of the game.
• Character Guides give a proper understanding of the fighting tools you have with each SF6 character. It might be a good idea to check out this section if you think about picking someone as your main fighter. And it also might be efficient to revisit these guides to refresh your knowledge — which is important for beginners to not stick to a specific pattern of action in a match but to use the whole arsenal.
• Combo Trials is a great practice room for all levels of skills: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced. Train combos for your character and develop muscle memory for them (with the additional use of the Training mode, sure). 

It is never too early to visit Practice in Street Fighter 6, but let us give the beginners a piece of advice. Allow yourself to enjoy the other game modes, which are more fun by their nature. Notorious training and repetitive practice should be mixed into AI and multiplayer fights with reasonable proportions. Yep, you will play better thanks to Practice. But you need to get some motivation for such activity and see a tangible goal to continue it.

For some general advice on improving your skills, check out our guide on How to Get Good at Street Fighter 6.

Versus

If you want to play with friends offline or have a match vs CPU, head to this section.

You can choose One on One or Team Battle and specify some settings, such as commentary, match format, number of rounds, etc. And then — just have fun fighting.

These vs CPU matches are awesome to warm yourself up before multiplayer fights or to practice something in a less safe environment than Training.

And for the local matches — they are absolutely amazing in any fighting game, SF6 included. You see the emotions of your opponents IRL and basically have an exciting gaming party. 

Special Match

This section contains the Extreme Battles mode. It is pretty similar to Versus, but with the unique opportunity to add some special conditions to your matches: Rules and Gimmicks.

Some of those conditions are hilarious, like having a bull running through the stage. And all of them make the fights extreme in a non-traditional way.

Online

A proper multiplayer lobby of Street Fighter 6 is located in the Battle Hub section. Fighting Ground has only Custom Rooms. You can create one and invite friends to join — to have a rather private party. Or you could decide to create/join a public room for random people to play together.

Custom Rooms can have up to 16 players and four simultaneous matches, with chosen conditions for each of them (like One on One, Training, or Extreme Battle). The Custom Rooms feature is also available through Battle Hub.

Battle Hub — a Social Space

However great the World Tour is, however interested in the Arcade stories you might be, or however dedicated to training you are, online multiplayer matches remain the core of the SF6 experience. It’s a place to try out your beginner skills, demonstrate the results of your training, or get prepared for serious esports competitions. It is just a place to have the most fun in the game.

The online lobby of Street Fighter 6 was named Battle Hub. It’s a virtual social space to meet other players and enjoy various types of matches.

In Battle Hub, you have a technical option of connecting to various servers. Choose Quick Join for automatic selection, Select Server to play in a chosen region, View Contacts to know where your friends are hanging out, or scroll through available Tournaments to join one.

When you enter the Battle Hub space, you can just walk around and visit the available sections (they are nicely visible on the map).

• Arcade-style cabinets for Battle Hub matches. Just take one and wait for an opponent to join. Or check out if anyone is sitting alone, waiting for you.
• Extreme Battles are available through arcades in a special section. Head there if you want unusual rules and gimmicks in your matches.
• Avatar Battles are available in the center, and it’s a pretty unusual way to interact with avatars of other people — unusual, but pretty fighting-like.
• Game Center is a place where you can relax after intense multiplayer fights and play some classic Capcom games.
• Stores allow you to buy cosmetic items for your Battle Hub avatar. How would you like to express yourself in the SF6 social space?
• Event Center will let you know about things happening in the world of Street Fighter 6 esports, such as current tournaments.

The Battle Hub menu may seem a bit complicated — because of how many options it has. Don’t worry, just take your time to explore everything, and you will soon get familiar with it. For example, you can turn on/off your participation in Ranked and Casual matches here, select the character, and change the appearance of your avatar.

By the way, if you enjoy the competitive side of Street Fighter 6, you might get interested in our article on the Online Ranking System in this game.

Interactions with other players are not limited to fights in the special section. A simple option of having a conversation through chat is also here. Approach anyone and try out social experience in Street Fighter 6.

There is no one ultimate way of playing Street Fighter 6 — in terms of choosing your favorite mode, main character, or fighting style. Only direct practical experience will show you the right path in this journey to strength, fun, and glory. Find what you are enjoying at the moment — and hopefully, this article has shown you the available options.

But what about an even more essential choice? If you still haven’t bought the game, you might be interested in our article on SF6 Editions — select which one to buy.