Street Fighter 5 PS4 Beta Doesn't Let You Invite Friends, Use the Share Button

The PS4-exclusive Street Fighter V beta launches today, but if you were planning on playing it against your friends, it sounds as if you're out of luck.

Capcom has clarified some details about how the beta will work before it goes live tonight. Most significantly, there is no way to invite friends into matches; instead, all matches are chosen at random, according to a Capcom Unity blog post.

Those random matchups don't take into account your region, either; you'll find yourself playing against players from all over the world during the beta. Capcom insists this isn't the way the full game will work, and that it's "still working on [its] location-tracking/matchmaking algorithm." While getting to play early is a perk for players, Capcom is using this test "to get a large variety of different connections globally, so [it] can use that data to refine [its] systems."

Capcom also revealed that you won't be able to the use the PS4's sharing features to save screenshots or videos, at least during this first beta. Furthermore, server maintenance will take place daily from 11 PM PDT to 1 AM, during which time you'll be unable to play.

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When you are playing, both experience points and Fight Money won't have any affect on your experience and are described as "placeholder." Fight Money, as we recently learned, is a new in-game currency you earn by playing that can be used to buy all future gameplay DLC.

Beta access is available to North American players by preordering through PSN or various retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop. Those in Europe can also get in by enrolling online.

The Street Fighter V beta is set to go live on PS4 today, July 23, at 6 PM PDT. Six characters in total will be available during the test, though two--Birdie and Cammy--won't be added until Saturday, July 25. The test runs through July 28, and will be followed by a PS4 and PC beta this fall and a third beta at some future date.