Publisher Capcom will soon dole out added punishment for players who purposefully bail out during online matches of Street Fighter V. PC beta users have spotted a new character icon that calls out players known for rage quitting.
Text that accompanies the forthcoming update also suggests that rage quitters could be paired off against one another during the matchmaking process as a penalty, turning the game’s versus mode into a battle against online gaming’s biggest losers.
Street Fighter V, Capcom’s one-on-one fighting game, launched in February and features a robust online mode in which players are ranked in terms of skill. Players’ skill points increase as matches are won, putting them in closer competition with their high-ranking rivals.
Unscrupulous fighters soon discovered that no skill points are lost when matches end prematurely due to network disconnection, leading many players to pull the plug when they find themselves on the brink of losing a final round. Early versions of Street Fighter V did not punish this behavior, frustrating veteran players.
Subsequent updates have made it more difficult for serial rage quitters to find matches. Currently, players who quit three Street Fighter V matches within a two-hour span are blocked from participating in matchmaking for 24 hours. Capcom’s latest addition to its rage-quitting policy is its most brutal to date, however, as rage quitters will soon receive a mark of shame on their character profiles, advising rivals to stay clear.
“Special icons will be displayed on the Fighter Profiles of players who frequently disconnect, as well as those who never do, making it easier for players with the same icon to battle against each other,” on-screen text from a recent Street Fighter V test branch reads.
The text also outlines unspecified “temporary matchmaking restrictions” that will be levied against rage quitters, suggesting that users who engage in unsportsmanlike conduct will only encounter fellow cheaters in subsequent matches.
The latest test branch for Street Fighter V has since been pulled from Steam. A time frame for the introduction of Capcom’s new rage-quitting penalties is not yet known.
