Former Tekken boss announces new studio with SNK

Katsuhiro Harada, Bandai Namco's former producer Tekken franchise, revealed that he has joined SNK to create a new game development studio called VS Studio. Former Tekken the boss said that the name VS Studio has multiple meanings and that it will be a studio that will take on different challenges alongside like-minded developers.

Harada's resume at Bandai Namco stretched back to 1994, when he was the voice actor for the first two Tekken records. Harada's first plays he directed were in 1997 Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament. Along with his involvement with TekkenHarada has served as a producer, supervisor, and director on various Bandai Namco projects. Although Harada is no longer in charge 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 that he is the CEO of VS Studio SNK

Following Harada's sudden departure from Bandai Namco after more than 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 founded VS Studio SNK, a Japanese studio based in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Harada said that the name VS Studio has various meanings and initializations, with “Versus” and “Visual Studio” being some common ones that may confuse gamers and developers. However, Harada said that deeper definitions such as “Video game Soft (VS Development Division)” and “the spirit of the challenging tradition of 'Versus'” can be traced back to the studio's deep roots in the game industry. Other initialisms that appeared during Harada's reveal included “Visionary Standard” and “Vanguard Spirit”.

Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.

Easy (5) Medium (7) Hard (10)

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 spend time making games with colleagues he could trust. Harada added that VS Studio has already received long-term support from SNK, which has allowed his team to take on any challenges. Since SNK is already a big name in the fighting game genre, including ongoing titles like Fatal Fury: City of the WolvesHarada joining forces with SNK is a significant opportunity for the industry. Harada said that VS Studio is also looking to hire new employees who want to take on the challenges of modern game development. “VS Studio wants to be a studio that will continue to face such challenges, and we are looking for talented individuals who share our ambitions,” said Harada.

SNK is owned by the Saudi Arabian Electronic Gaming Development Company (EGDC), a subsidiary of the MISK Foundation. The creation of VS Studio SNK came just a few months after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) also took control of the EVO fighting game championship tournaments. In addition, PIF holds stakes in various AAA game developers such as Capcom and Nintendo, and is set to buy Electronic Arts (EA) for $55 billion.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

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

At the time of writing, it is unknown what games Harada's new studio is working on. Harada said that while there are some things he'd like to do, he said he can't say anything too loosely about SNK's various IPs. With various new fighting games taking over the modern scene such as Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, Invincible VSand 2XKOtime will tell what VS Studio produces.