'Street Fighter 5' Akuma DLC release date news: Akuma leads new batch of add-ons for next year's Character Pass

The popular fighting game "Street Fighter 5" is about to kick off its second batch of downloadable add-on characters, and what better way to do so than to bring in Akuma, the supreme master of the fist.

Akuma has initially appeared as a playable character at the recently concluded PlayStation Experience in Anaheim, California, where it was also announced that he will officially be available later this month.as a downloadable add-on character.

Known in the Japanese version of the game as Gouki or the Great Demon, Akuma will be the seventh additional character to join the fighting game's roster, and he will not be the last. As part of the 2017 Character Pass that will launch on Tuesday, Dec. 20, Akuma is just one of the diverse six-character line-up of new and returning characters coming to the game throughout 2017.

The Character Pass 2017 will sell at $29.99, and it will also come with premium battle costumes for each of the upcoming add-on fighters. Unlocked and default costume colors number from 3 to 10. In addition to the premium battle costumes, nostalgic ones will also be available for Akuma when the pass releases in two weeks. Along with all these treats, Character Pass holders will also be receiving an exclusive PlayStation 4 (PS4) theme upon purchase.

The upcoming add-on character, Akuma, will arrive alongside the fighting game's Holiday Content, which will include B-Boy Ryu and B-Girl Chun-Li. Each holiday costume sells at $3.99, with a bundled option that includes the entire content at a discounted price of $19.99. The Holiday Content is only available until Jan. 17, 2017.

An official reveal trailer has also been released for Akuma, wherein he is featured fighting against Ryu, one of his brother Gouken's apprentices. Avid "Street Fighter" fans have noticed that the kanji emblazoned on Akuma's back in the trailer is different from the usual character "ten" or "heaven." It is not yet clear what this new character means or how it affects Akuma's in-game storyline.