Street Fighter 6’s AI is so good it destroyed the fighting game GOAT

Players trying out the Street Fighter 6 demo found out that its Level 8 CPU was incredibly difficult and nigh impossible to beat. This was the case even for fighting game legend Daigo “The Beast” Umehara, who got repeatedly destroyed by the AI and was barely able to get a hit in.

Although the Street Fighter 6 demo only has two characters to choose from in its versus mode, players around the world are already putting hours in to learn the game’s new set of complex mechanics and need-to-know tech that sets it apart from previous entries in the series.

Fighting game legend Daigo “The Beast” Umehara dived into the demo head-first, immediately setting the CPU to max difficulty and assuming it’d be the best way he could practice. He wasn’t expecting much, which is fair, considering that he’s almost inarguably the greatest Street Fighter player of all time with a career spanning literal decades of competition.

However, much to his surprise, the CPU handily beat him. And then beat him again. And again. And again. It took a great deal of effort for Daigo to best Street Fighter 6’s hardest difficulty level, and he praised how good the AI was at reading his moves.

Street Fighter 6 AI praised by Daigo after beating him repeatedly

Daigo’s been making his mark on the esports scene since before it even existed, making for some of the best moments in competitive gaming history even as far back as the early 2000s.

Clips like EVO moment #37 are still talked about almost 20 years later, and he’s been able to stay near the top level of competition longer than pretty much any other pro gamer competing in any current esport. And, with Street Fighter 6 shaping up to be one of the best games in the series, it’s no surprise that Daigo’s hopping in early to hone his skills.

However, he finally met his match in the Street Fighter 6 demo: The AI. Daigo got bested by Street Fighter 6’s highest difficulty CPU several times as he jumped into the latest title in the series, proving that it can dominate even the best players.

At first, Daigo felt like the bot was cheating with how it reacted to moves. But, as he was able to sneak in the rare hit with some mix-ups of his own, the fighting game legend realized that Street Fighter 6’s AI was really just that good.

He then moved into praising the AI and getting visibly frustrated as he lost round after round. It didn’t, at any time, seem like an unbeatable adversary, but one that would take a great deal of time and practice to best.

Daigo himself called it “harder than Elden Ring” and ultimately couldn’t take more than a round off of his AI opponent. It’s no surprise that CPU level 8 has been an incredible challenge for average players as well, with very few people managing to take a full match off of the AI.