When Katsuhiro Harada — commonly referred to the godfather of Tekken — announced his departure from Bandai Namco late last year, we were left wondering whether he’d remain in gaming.
As it turns out, the answer to that question is a resounding ‘yes’. Harada’s gone on to establish a new development outfit named VS Studio — and the big twist is that it’s being backed by SNK, the company behind the Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, and Samurai Shodown games.
We don’t know what the developer is working on just yet, but the studio name alone suggests that it’ll have something to do with fighting games.
“VS Studio’s philosophy is ‘Beyond tradition, crafted to perfection’,” Harada states, as part of the official press release.
He continues: “The ‘VS’ in VS Studio holds various meanings. It represents our roots in ‘Video game Soft,’ the spirit of ‘Versus’ challenging tradition, and many other meanings symbolising innovation and challenge, such as ‘Visionary Standard,’ ‘Volition Shift,’ and ‘Vanguard Spirit.’
Hey, we’re not going to argue with that!
To be clear, SNK doesn’t outright own VS Studio (yet). It’s currently investing in the outfit, with plans to make it a subsidiary — presumably once everything’s up and running.
At this point, it should be noted that SNK was bought out by what is essentially the state of Saudi Arabia in 2022. Its owners have pumped a lot of money into the once troubled company since then, securing guest characters like Cristiano Ronaldo for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, and hosting esports events with gigantic prize pools.
It’s assumed that VS Studio will be handed some serious backing as well.
What do you make of this? Do you have high hopes for whatever Harada ends up spearheading, or will he simply never top Tekken? Throw some punches in the comments section below.
