Six fighters, three stages playable in Street Fighter 5's upcoming beta

Six characters will be playable in the PlayStation 4-only Street Fighter 5 online multiplayer beta kicking off July 23, Capcom said today in outlining features and details of the five-day beta.

Four of those fighters will be available immediately, with Cammy and Birdie joining on July 25. Capcom said it's holding those two characters back in order to test the game's content delivery system.

There will be no local multiplayer during the beta, Capcom reminded, saying that the purpose of the beta is to test online functions.

Online matchmaking will be a little different as well. Players will choose a fighter from the character select screen, then advance to a training mode before getting paired up to fight on one of three stages — Bustling Side Street, Terminal Station, or Forgotten Waterfall, which is new to the game.

The multiplayer is online only, not local

Anyone preordering Street Fighter 5 in North America and Latin America gets guaranteed access to the beta. Preorders are being taken from a variety of retailers in the U.S. and Canada, and through PlayStation Network in both regions.

In Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, Asia and Japan, users must sign up or apply for beta acccess either by visiting a website or downloading a beta test ticket. There are more details at the link for how to enroll.

This is the first of three phases for the PS4 beta. No details have been announced for the PC beta Capcom has promised.