Street Fighter 6’s Rival Schools Collaboration Could Hint at Future Developments

Street Fighter 6 has been diving into various crossovers lately, but its latest team-up might just be the quirkiest yet. On April 1, Capcom announced the introduction of a fighting pass themed around the not-so-forgotten gem, Rival Schools. What might seem like a quirky April Fool’s prank is actually the real deal. Logging into Street Fighter 6 now allows players to snag some exclusive rewards straight from Capcom’s vault, including new avatar gear, fresh music tracks, stickers, and shiny player titles, all inspired by the Rival Schools series.

For long-time gamers, this announcement was both a surprise and a trip down memory lane primarily because the Rival Schools series has been on a long hiatus. The last known entry, Project Justice, came out for the Sega Dreamcast way back in 2000, marking a long period of silence for the series. Although Project Justice is about to get a modern re-release thanks to the Capcom Fighting Collection 2, it’s still unexpected for Capcom to resurrect a title that’s been dormant for so long. This could be a hint that they’re possibly looking at reviving the Rival Schools franchise with new installments down the line.

Rival Schools has never been a household name, and there’s a reason for that. The series comprises just three installments, one of which never made it beyond Japan. Historically, its releases have been exclusive to either Sega or Sony platforms, limiting its reach. Unlike Capcom’s runaway success, the Street Fighter series, Rival Schools presents a lineup of high school students and teachers entangled in battles to uncover the truth behind mysterious campus kidnappings and assaults.

The Rival Schools series is intrinsically tied to the Street Fighter universe, though it’s never achieved the same level of fame. It doesn’t quite boast the same vast popularity, possibly due to factors like limited international releases and platform exclusivity.

Capcom is on a mission to breathe new life into its forgotten treasures, and a Rival Schools comeback doesn’t seem as impossible as it might have a few years ago. In late 2023, Capcom announced plans to “bring back dormant IPs that haven’t seen new titles in recent times,” aiming to keep delivering top-notch games. We’ve already witnessed Capcom’s strategy in action with the announcements of a new Onimusha game, a sequel to Okami, and the return of series like Dead Rising and Dragon’s Dogma. This forward momentum could very well lead to a new Rival Schools game in the near future.

Admittedly, there is a potential hiccup when considering a new installment: Hideaki Itsuno, who was instrumental in the Rival Schools series, has since departed from Capcom. During his tenure, Itsuno was enthusiastic about creating a Rival Schools 3, deeming it a personal ambition. While his exit seems to lessen the odds of this happening, Capcom’s willingness to integrate Rival Schools into Street Fighter 6 indicates that the series has not been forgotten. The door remains open for future undertakings, even without him at the helm.