After a few delays (and some leaks) it is now confirmed that the next new character for Season 2 of Street Fighter V will be Ed. All the characters from Season 2, aside from Akuma, are to be their debut entry into the fighting game series. Kolin was the first one, released back in February.
Story wise, Ed has appeared in the lore since Super Street Fighter IV. A young boy experimented to be replacement body for M. Bison, for the most part of his life he is raised by tone of Bison’s henchmen, the boxer Balrog. Ed also appeared in Balrog’s character story in SFV.
Ed’s gameplay is heavily influenced by these two characters. He utilises Bison’s Psycho powers in his V-Skill to whip and attract the opponent near to him, and a V-Trigger that shoots a slow projectile that hit multiple times if connected. His basic moves definitely has a boxing influence like Balrog, making him more of a rushdown character.
Interestingly, Ed will be the first in the roster to not have a lot of motion inputs for his moves. All his moves only uses simultaneous button presses, tapping a button repeatedly or holding a button. No quarter circle or dragon punch motions aside from the critical art which is a standard double quarter circle motion.
Ed will be available alongside the rest of the roster for everyone to try out in a beta test starting this weekend. No word when Ed will land properly in the game, but safe to assume it will be after the improved online infrastructure and mid-season balance patches are live.