Former Tekken Boss Announces New Studio with SNK

Katsuhiro Harada, the former producer of Bandai Namco’s Tekken franchise, revealed that he has joined SNK and formed a new game development studio called VS Studio. The former Tekken boss said that the name VS Studio holds multiple meanings, and that it will be a studio that takes on various challenges alongside like-minded developers.

Harada’s resume with Bandai Namco stretched back to 1994, when he was a voice actor for the first two Tekken entries. Harada’s first games he directed were 1997’s Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament. Along with his involvement with Tekken, Harada served as a producer, supervisor, and director on various Bandai Namco projects. Although Harada is no longer at the helm of the Tekken series, Tekken 8 will see the return of Kunimitsu as a playable fighter at the end of May.

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Harada Reveals He Is the CEO of VS Studio SNK

Following Harada’s sudden departure from Bandai Namco after over 31 years, the veteran game producer revealed that he is not done with game development. In a short video, Harada revealed that he is the CEO of the newly-formed VS Studio SNK, a Japanese studio located in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Harada said that VS Studio’s name has different meanings and initializations, with “Versus” and “Visual Studio” being some common ones that gamers and developers may think of. However, Harada said that deeper definitions, such as “Video game Soft (VS Development Division),” and the “spirit of ‘Versus’ challenging tradition,” can be traced back to the studio’s deep roots in the gaming industry. Other initialisms that came up during Harada’s reveal included “Visionary Standard” and “Vanguard Spirit.”

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Harada said that the new SNK studio was formed after he asked himself how to spend the time he had left as a game developer, and that he wanted to focus and dedicate time toward making games with colleagues he could trust. Harada added that VS Studio has already received long-term support from SNK, allowing his team to embrace any challenges. Given that SNK is already a big name in the fighting game genre, including ongoing titles like Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Harada joining forces with SNK is a momentous occasion for the industry. Harada stated that VS Studio is also looking to take on new staff members who want to take on the challenges that come with modern game development. “VS Studio wants to be a studio that continues to take on such challenges, and we are looking for talented individuals who share our aspirations,” Harada said.

SNK is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC), a subsidiary of the MISK Foundation. The formation of VS Studio SNK came just months after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) also assumed control of the EVO fighting game championship tournaments. Additionally, the PIF holds stakes in various AAA game developers like Capcom and Nintendo, and is looking to purchase Electronic Arts (EA) in a $55 billion buyout.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

As of this writing, it is unknown what games Harada’s new studio is working on. Harada said that, while there are some things he would like to do, he said he couldn’t say anything too freely concerning SNK’s various IPs. With various new fighting games taking over the modern scene, such as Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, Invincible VS, and 2XKO, time will tell what VS Studio will make.