Capcom bans new Street Fighter stage from pro competition

Capcom has taken the unusual step of banning something it has made from competitive Street Fighter play.

Street Fighter 5's Skies of Honor stage will not be used in Capcom Cup 2016, nor will it be used in the Capcom Pro Tour's upcoming season. The reason is that it is simply too visually distracting.

Due to being too distracting for tournament play, the #SFV Skies of Honor stage will not be used for Capcom Cup 2016 and the CPT2017 Season.

— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) November 22, 2016

Skies of Honor is a DLC stage, and it takes place on the wings of Rashid's private airplane above Dubai. It launched on Nov. 8. This video offers a good look at what the stage entails and why it's so troublesome to competitive play.

Street Fighter pro Keoma Pacheco (via IGN) noted his concerns over the stage's use in competitive play, saying the changing background was extremely distracting and could cause motion sickness.

It's the second stage to be banned from competition in Street Fighter 5. Kanzuki Beach, a DLC stage that launched July 1, also is prohibited because low-traveling projectiles can be obscured by the water in the background on one half of the stage. The game's training stage, The Grid, also has been banned from competition.

The Capcom Cup Finals are Dec. 2-3 at PlayStation Experience in Anaheim.