With video games already being swamped with microtransactions, season passes, battle passes and various other forms of monetization, there are very few things that can surprise me anymore. However, Capcom has recently managed to do just that given that they not only introduced advertising into Street Fighter V, but also plastered it all over the characters themselves, often ruining their entire style in the process.

While these advertisements were indeed optional, there were significant enough in-game rewards for using them that players ended up feeling stuck with them, regardless of their preference. Thankfully, the community outcry against these advertisements and their ill-fitting nature was so massive that Capcom has now pulled them out, though not without alluding that they will be returning in a different form at some point in the future.

Personally, this is a very black and white situation for me. If Capcom wants to have advertisements throughout Street Fighter V, that is perfectly fine as long as the game itself is entirely free-to-play. Alternatively, if they want to sell the game along with a variety of DLC characters and costumes, then advertisements have absolutely no place being in the actual game. Even if they were entirely optional, the sheer presence of in-game benefits would make them nigh mandatory, and as such would negatively affect Street Fighter V's style and the visuals of the characters many have become incredibly attached to over the years.

What exactly Capcom will do in the end, that still remains to be seen, but I can only hope they will find a solution that doesn't alienate their already distrusting fanbase even further. Should anything else happen, I'll make sure to let you know, but until then you can at the very least continue playing without having stickers plastered all over your characters.