Play Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition for free until May 5

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Play as anyone in the Arcade Edition, plus four DLC characters

Mortal Kombat 11 launches tomorrow, April 23, but Capcom is hoping to steal some of that fighting game thunder with a two-week free trial for Street Fighter 5 starting the very same day. From April 23 at 1pm PT until May 5 PT, you can jump into Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition on PS4 and PC at no charge, all modes included.

If you're super eager, you can start downloading your trial copy at 9am PT on April 23; all you need is a Steam account on PC, while only the online modes require a PS Plus subscription on PS4. In other words, now's a great time to get some local games in if you're always wanted to mix it up in SF5 but just never made the time. And if you're a fledgling online warrior, you can jump into some network games knowing that there are plenty of other newcomers out there just waiting for a worthy challenger.

For anyone in need of a refresher, Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition's base roster of 16 characters includes (deep breath) Birdie, Cammy, Chun-Li, Dhalsim, F.A.N.G., Karin, Ken, Laura, M. Bison, Nash, Necalli, R. Mika, Rashid, Ryu, Vega, and Zangief. As an added bonus, Capcom is also making four DLC fighters freely available during the trial: Akuma, Blanka, Juri, and Menat, with the caveat that they can only be used in Ranked, Casual, Battle Lounge, Training, and Challenges modes.

As for any lapsed Street Fighter 5 players who bought it at launch back in 2016 but have since drifted off to other games, it may be worth revisiting this Arcade Edition trial so you can try out the full-fat Arcade mode it added, complete with a worthwhile storyline and plenty of fascinating lore tidbits. And if you fall in love with Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition during the free trial period, you can go all-out on costume DLC packs, Season Passes, and Extra Battle unlocks (like the Breath of Fire 2 outfit for Falke detailed in Capcom's official post).

If you want even more virtual fisticuffs, here are the best fighting games to play right now. Or see what's coming up this week in games and entertainment with our latest Release Radar:

Lucas Sullivan
Lucas Sullivan

Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them.