Street Fighter might be taking the fight to a new level with deal that goes beyond the game

Capcom is looking to bring Street Fighter to the mountaintop of pop culture relevancy once again, making deals to promote the franchise in various ways around its flagship video game releases. This now includes a potential return to film and TV as a new agreement has the fighting game’s IP being licensed to a major Hollywood studio. 

As noted by the Hollywood Reporter, Capcom is teaming up with Legendary Entertainment as the two sides agreed on a deal for Street Fighter’s movie and TV rights. 

There are no additional details on the deal, such as how long it will last or if a project is already in the works, but this is a step from Capcom toward expanding Street Fighter into even more mediums after mostly sticking to video games over the last several decades. 

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Street Fighter and other popular video game IPs are hot commodities in the film and TV industry as studios and services look to adapt existing content in a new way. This has only become more popular over the last several years—and will continue to grow with the success of projects like HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us. 

This won’t be the first time Capcom has worked with studios in this way, either. Street Fighter already has multiple animated and live-action projects dating back to the mid-1990s—like the 1994 cult hit blockbuster or beloved Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. There has been a drought in these productions since Machinma produced Street Fighter: Resurrection in 2016. 

Capcom has been very active in making deals to push Street Fighter with new promotions and products ahead of Street Fighter 6’s June 2 launch. 

At the end of February, the company finally launched its free-to-play mobile game Street Fighter: Duel in Western markets. Older SF titles have also been re-released on various platforms through anniversary collections, allowing Capcom to showcase the franchise’s roots. 

Even that was preceded by a number of clothing, tech accessories, gaming crossovers, and toys that have been building up and becoming more frequent. 

As a whole, Street Fighter has sold over 49 million copies since the original launched in 1987. If SF6 performs to the level of some of Capcom’s other recent releases like Resident Evil 4 Remake, expect even more content from the franchise outside of games.