Cammy and Birdie are back in Street Fighter 5, due in March 2016

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During Sony's press conference at E3 2015, Capcom unleashed a three-hit combo of announcements for the upcoming PC/PS4-exclusive Street Fighter 5: Cammy and Birdie are back in action, and the game is due for release in the middle of next year.

Cammy's a no-brainer inclusion, since she's arguably the second most popular female fighter in the series after Chun-Li. But Birdie is a surprise pick for the roster, making a name for himself in the Street Fighter Alpha series after his forgettable debut in the original Street Fighter. Both fighters retain their familiar special moves with a few new tricks; you'll want to check out the Street Fighter 5 roster for the full rundown of their playstyles.

And if you don't think you can wait a year for SF5, fear not: you may be playing much sooner than the spring 2016 release window. Capcom revealed more about SF5's beta program, with the first phase set to kick off on PS4 this July, just after the EVO fighting game tournament. Those who pre-order the game in North America will be eligible to try out a chunk of it starting July 23rd for a five-day-long stress test. Sorry, PC gamers: this first beta is a PS4 exclusive (which explains why this was all announced at Sony's presser), though there are plans to test the cross-platform play later down the line.

A Capcom spokesperson explained that the beta is meant to stress test SF5's new 'Kagemusha' netcode. "We have an increased focus on online this time around, so that's why we're hitting this stuff early. [The beta tests] will actually be online only, because we want people to test out the online experience," he said. And while some minor balance changes may come out of these tests, the focus is on putting the netcode through its paces.

For more announcements, check all our E3 2015 coverage.

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.