Street Fighter V Goes Offline and Is Pulled From Sale as Capcom Works on PHP Security

Street Fighter V's online features have been down since 23 October 2026, and Capcom has now suspended sales of the game on Steam and PlayStation Store while emergency maintenance continues. Capcom says the work is part of security improvements linked to PHP. Offline modes still work on PS4 and PC, but ranked matches, casual matches, Battle Lounges and crossplay are all unavailable. Capcom hasn't given a date for when service will return. The game's Steam page now says it is "no longer available on the Steam store", and Capcom's own web store has paused sales too.

This isn't an announced end of service. Capcom calls it maintenance and a staged suspension of sales. But with no ETA, a Steam delisting and a game that is more than ten years old, players in India who still use SFV for ranked matches or local tournaments should know what works, what doesn't, and what to do with any DLC they own.

What happened, in order

The Steam notice was posted at 10:05 UTC on 23 October, which is 3:35 p.m. IST. Capcom's 27 October statement was reported by Video Games Chronicle and Gaming.net.

NextPlayIntel original infographic. Sources: Capcom via Steam and Capcom Town, VGC.

What still works and what doesn't

Local versus on one PS4 or PC, with two controllers, is the mode that matters most for offline meetups and college events in India, and it still works. Online-only features such as earning Fight Money through online play or buying characters with it don't work while the servers are down.

Why PHP matters here

PHP is a server-side language that runs a huge share of websites and online services. On 21 October the PHP project released fixed versions (8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35) for two critical vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, nicknamed "PHP2Shell". According to Google Cloud's security write-up, they're rated CVSS 9.2 and allow unauthenticated remote code execution. In other words, an attacker could run code on a vulnerable server without logging in. They were reported to have been found with the help of AI tools.

Capcom hasn't said that SFV's servers were hacked, and it hasn't publicly linked the outage to these specific CVEs. Its notice only mentions "security enhancements" related to PHP. The timing (patches on 21 October, SFV offline on 23 October) suggests Capcom is checking or rebuilding older backend systems. In a ten-year-old game, those systems may run older PHP versions that are harder to update than modern services.

What this means for players in India

• If you own SFV: the game stays in your library and offline modes work. Your DLC characters and costumes stay on your account, but anything you hadn't downloaded or unlocked yet may need the servers.

• If you wanted to buy it: you can't on Steam right now. On Steam India, some DLC bundles were still listed when we checked (Season 5 Premium Pass at ₹1,997; Champion Edition Upgrade Kit + Season 5 bundle at ₹2,247). Don't buy DLC for a game whose online features are down with no ETA.

• For local tournaments: offline versus still works, so LAN or couch brackets can go ahead. Online qualifiers on SFV can't.

• For ranked players: there's no online play until Capcom restores service. Street Fighter 6 is now where most active online play happens.

Step by step: what to do now

1. Download everything you own. On PS4 or Steam, make sure all owned DLC is installed so it's available offline.

2. Back up your PC install. Steam owners can keep a local copy of the game folder, so a fresh install isn't needed if the store listing stays down.

3. Hold off on DLC purchases. Wait for Capcom to confirm that online service is back.

4. Follow official channels. Updates have come through the Steam news page and the official Street Fighter X account.

5. Consider Street Fighter 6. It costs ₹2,499 on Steam India (Years 1-2 Fighters Edition ₹3,499) and has active online play and crossplay.

Background: Street Fighter V

Street Fighter V launched on 15 February 2016 for PS4 and PC, with crossplay between PS4 and Steam, which was rare for a fighting game at the time. It had a rocky launch with little single-player content, but Capcom kept supporting it for years. The final Champion Edition has 40 characters, 34 stages and more than 200 costumes, and DLC characters could be bought with Fight Money earned in the game. It was the main Capcom Pro Tour game until Street Fighter 6 replaced it after its 1 June 2023 release.

What we don't know yet

• When, or whether, SFV online play and sales will return. Capcom has given no ETA.

• Whether the outage is directly linked to CVE-2026-109618/109619 or to a broader PHP security review.

• The current SFV status on PS Store India, which we haven't verified.

• Whether any account or player data was affected. Capcom has not said so.

We'll update this article when Capcom posts a new notice.

Sources

• Video Games Chronicle — Capcom temporarily delists Street Fighter 5

• Capcom Town Store — sales suspension notice

• Steam India — Street Fighter V store page and maintenance notice

• Gaming.net — Capcom suspends Street Fighter V sales

• Google Cloud — Responding to core PHP vulnerabilities

• PHP.net — 2026 news archive