Everybody loves Mai Shiranui. No better proof of it than Street Fighter 6 showing up on the Steam best-selling games after the SNK guest character was released this past February 4.
Capcom's fighting game cracked the top 10 list of best-selling titles once more. Considering Street Fighter 6 was initially released in June 2023, for it to make it back to the top of the Steam charts is a testament to how popular Mai is.
Her popularity is so high that SF6 peaked at 63k concurrent users on Steam. That's just 7k below the game's all-time high of 70k, according to SteamDB.
Crossovers have been a common tactic to inject new life into a fighting game. What made guest characters in Street Fighter 6 unique is that this is the first time in series history the franchise welcomed third-party characters with Terry Bogard and Mai.
For many purists, it's a tragedy. After all, Capcom has plenty of franchises dedicated to crossovers: Marvel vs Capcom, Capcom vs SNK, and even Tatsunoko vs Capcom has a cult following.
However, it's clear that the appeal and sales impact of guest characters, especially one as popular as Mai Shiranui, justifies her inclusion over staple Street Fighter characters.
This won't be the last time we see SNK and Capcom characters duke it out in the coming future. The return of Fatal Fury with City of the Wolves will include Ken Masters and Chun-Li as guest fighters during the first season of SNK's title, set to be released in April 2025.
If you're keen on trying out a new fighting game or are jumping into the genre for the first time, there's few options out there better than Street Fighter 6. In our review back in 2023 we called it the perfect entry point due to its flashy system mechanics and good offering of single-player content.
If you're already enjoying everything the game has the offer, we recommend you check out how to find Mai in World Tour as you'll be able to unlock her outfit 2 for free.