"Harada is now the CEO and director at , a new team under the SNK umbrella. At a glance, that sounds like the stuff of fanfiction, with one veteran fighting game legend heading over to another company known for classics like King of Fighters and , and in theory, this could be a really impactful studio for moving the genre forward. However, look a little closer at the state of SNK, and the cynical cracks start to set in."
"Electronic Gaming Development Company, a company owned by the Saudi Arabian prime minister, Mohammed bin Salman, acquired SNK back in 2022 as part of what appears to be a concentrated effort on the part of the Saudi Arabian government to bring its “sportswashing” campaign to gaming. The country with tons of money but a very checkered record on human rights has set about acquiring stakes in developers and publishers like and , as well as taking over long-standing cultural events like the EVO fighting game tournament."
"Harada opening a new studio should be exciting, but now it's got a giant asterisk next to it. It remains to be seen whether or not VS Studio SNK suffers under its parent company, though has made weird choices since the acquisition, from using AI slop to including soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo as a playable character for no discernible reason."
Katsuhiro Harada left Bandai Namco after decades leading a major fighting game series and later became CEO and director of a new studio under the SNK umbrella. The move could strengthen the fighting game genre, given Harada’s experience and SNK’s legacy. SNK was acquired in 2022 by Electronic Gaming Development Company, owned by Saudi Arabian Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The acquisition is framed as part of a Saudi “sportswashing” effort to improve public perception through gaming and related cultural events. Concerns grow because SNK has made unusual decisions since the acquisition, including using AI-generated content and adding Cristiano Ronaldo as a playable character without clear justification.
Read at Kotaku
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]