Just give me the shop and the 8 players lobbies. They can do this without releasing alex.
Content update delivery, especially when you're submitting it through a platform holder, isn't that simple. They started deving towards & debugging one build that we're dubbing the march update - divorcing two core features from it just to get it out faster could potentially cause even more issues than just delivering it all on the current production schedule & pipeline.
Remember, there are a few other things being introduced here than just Alex + 8 player lobbies + the shop. Honestly, the frustration from the community is one born from a lack of proper communication on Capcom's part. They should've given us an exact timeline on when to expect it this month. They probably feel showing Alex & showcasing the update prior to it launching undermines the CPT Premere events, so they are waiting until these two consecutive events are cleared before delivering it. I'm hoping Capcom gets better at this stuff as time goes forward.