If you’ve spent hours grinding ranked matches or exploring Metro City in World Tour mode, you’ve definitely seen other players rocking sleek, rare alternate outfits for Ryu, Chun-Li, Jamie, and the rest of the roster. Nothing makes your main feel more personal than rocking a custom look that fits your playstyle, and figuring out how to get costumes in Street Fighter 6 doesn’t have to be a confusing grind. I’ve spent hundreds of hours testing every unlock method across every game mode, and I’m breaking down every possible way to get every outfit, no fancy paid DLC required unless you want it. You don’t have to drop extra cash to get cool looks if you’re willing to put in a little time, and even the paid options are worth it if you’re after specific crossover or limited-run outfits.
Core Methods for How to Get Costumes in Street Fighter 6
All costume unlocks fall into three broad categories, and you can mix and match methods to build your collection as quickly or casually as you want. I’ve unlocked every free base-game costume so far, and I’ve tested every paid DLC pack to see which ones are worth the investment, so I can confirm these are the only reliable ways to get outfits in the game right now:
Most free costumes are tied directly to World Tour mode progression, so if you haven’t touched that single-player campaign yet, that’s the first place you’ll want to start. You don’t have to beat the entire campaign to unlock outfits for most of the roster, either—you just need to find the master associated with the character you want an outfit for and raise your friendship level with them. That means you can grind friendship for Chun-Li before you even finish the first 3 chapters of the story, if you know where to find her in Metro City. If you’re only looking for base game outfits, you won’t have to spend a cent to unlock every single one, and the process of how to get costumes in Street Fighter 6 through World Tour is actually pretty enjoyable if you like casual single-player content.
Unlocking Free Costumes via World Tour Mode: Pro Tips
Each master on the roster has a friendship meter that fills up as you interact with them throughout the campaign. You can raise the meter by giving them gifts, using their signature moves in battle, completing their side quests, and stopping to talk to them every time you visit their location. The meter goes up pretty fast even if you’re just playing casually, but there are a few tricks to cut your grind time down dramatically.
Not all gifts give the same friendship boost, so you’ll want to prioritize gifts that a specific master loves to cut your grind time in half. For example, Ryu loves matcha and traditional Japanese snacks, while Chun-Li goes crazy for herbal tea and cute cat-themed items. You can buy most of these gifts from the general store in downtown Metro City for just a few hundred fight money, or earn them as random drops from battles with enemy NPCs around the map. I used to waste gifts on random masters when I first started playing, and it took me almost 20 hours to unlock Ryu’s second costume. Once I started only giving masters their favorite gifts, I unlocked Chun-Li’s outfit in less than 3 hours.
Once you hit max friendship level with a master, you automatically get their second base costume for free, plus extra emotes, taunts, and exclusive moves you can add to your custom player moveset. You can also unlock extra color palettes for every costume by using the character in random World Tour battles, so you don’t have to grind separate objectives for different color options. I usually unlock all 10 base colors for a new costume after just 15 or 20 battles with the associated character.
Earning Limited-Time Costumes in Fighting Ground Mode
If you prefer competitive play over single-player content, you can still unlock plenty of free costumes without touching World Tour mode at all. All the unlocks in Fighting Ground are tied to challenges, events, or seasonal rewards, so you’ll have to keep an eye on the in-game news tab to make sure you don’t miss limited-time drops.
First, the weekly and monthly challenge system. Every week, you can complete 3-4 simple objectives like win 10 casual matches, land 5 super arts, or play 3 team battles to earn fight money, items, and sometimes full costume pieces or outfits. Most of these challenges take less than an hour to complete, so it’s easy to knock them out during a short play session. Then there’s the seasonal battle pass: the free tier of every SF6 battle pass always includes at least one full costume for a popular character, plus extra color variants for existing outfits. You don’t have to buy the premium pass to get these free rewards, you just have to play matches to earn battle pass XP.
Ranked mode exclusive costumes are only available for players who hit Gold rank or higher each season, so if you’re a competitive player, that’s a great way to get a rare outfit that shows off your skill. I hit Gold last season and got the special martial arts uniform for Jamie, and I still get comments on it every time I use it in casual matches. Just note that these ranked costumes are only available during the season they’re released, so if you miss the window, you won’t be able to get them later unless Capcom re-releases them in a special event.
Paid Costume Options: What’s Worth Your Money?
If you’re after more unique looks that aren’t available through free gameplay, Capcom regularly releases paid costume packs for all characters on the roster. These range from retro outfits from older Street Fighter games to crossover collaborations with other franchises, and they’re usually priced between $2 and $8 per individual costume, or $15 to $30 for a full pack of outfits for multiple characters.
Never pay for a base alternate costume that you can unlock for free in World Tour mode, because it’s a waste of money when you can get it for just a few hours of casual play. Save your cash for costumes that you can’t get any other way, like the Street Fighter Alpha retro costume pack, or the holiday-themed outfits that drop every December. These paid costumes often come with 10+ extra color variants right out of the box, so you don’t have to grind for extra colors like you do with free unlocks.
One thing to watch out for: Limited-time crossover costumes are only available for purchase for a 2-3 week window, so if you see one you love, don’t wait to buy it, because it might not come back for over a year, if at all. I missed out on the Monster Hunter collaboration outfits when they first dropped, and I’ve been waiting almost 8 months for them to come back to the in-game store with no announcement in sight. If you’re on the fence about a paid costume, you can preview it on your favorite character in the shop before you buy to make sure you like how it looks in matches.
At the end of the day, there’s no wrong way to build your costume collection in SF6, whether you prefer grinding for free unlocks or splurging on special paid outfits that fit your vibe. Figuring out how to get costumes in Street Fighter 6 is half the fun, and experimenting with different looks for your main can even make you feel more confident in matches, if you can believe it. I’ve got almost 30 costumes unlocked now, and I still switch up my look for Ryu every few weeks to keep things fresh. Don’t rush the grind, take time to explore World Tour and try different game modes, and you’ll have a full closet of cool outfits before you know it.