'Street Fighter V' character update: Capcom announces Laura

Screengrabbed from YouTube

Following a reveal earlier this month that named Zangief as an additional character for the upcoming "Street Fighter V," there emerged rumors that another character named Laura will also be appearing in the long-running fighting title.

Because of the leak, it seems that the publisher had no choice but to confirm the addition of the new character.

Following the leak by Famitsu, publisher Capcom has now officially revealed that indeed, Laura will be added to the character roster of "Street Fighter V." Checking out the gameplay footage for the new fighter, Forbes surmised that the grapple moves and electric shock attacks of Laura bear close resemblance to another "Street Fighter" veteran, Blanka.

In addition to the similar styles, there are also other similarities between Laura and Blanka. Her shade of suit is reminiscent of the green beast from classic "Street Fighter" titles. They also share the same country of origin – Laura is also from Brazil.

Because of her origin, Laura is listed as a jiu-jitsu master, noted GameSpot. The Matsuda grappling techniques practitioner joined Necalli and Rashid as new character additions to the series. Previously, Capcom hinted that there will be at least four new characters for the upcoming title, so fans are expecting one more fighter.

Capcom has not confirmed if the additional new fighter is the final character to make it to the roster, or there will be other classic veterans joining the melee. Aside from Laura, there are at least 13 confirmed fighters so far, a mixture of both new characters and classic fighters.

Meanwhile, as part of the development for the upcoming title, EventHubs reported that the second beta test for "Street Fighter V" has been confirmed to run from Oct. 22 until Oct. 25 in Japan.

Capcom has not released a specific rollout date for the game, but the publisher hinted that "Street Fighter V" may be released in the early months next year.