Katsuhiro Harada Launches VS Studio With SNK

The Bandai Namco veteran has revealed his post-Tekken path.

Katsuhiro Harada announced he was leaving Bandai Namco back in December of last year. Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Tekken franchise, of which Harada was virtually synonymous, the move came as a surprise to fans. Harada said on a post to his X account that with so many years under his belt as a game creator, he found himself wondering what he wanted to do with "the time [he] has left" in the industry. Fans wondered what the next move for him would be, and now they know: Harada has shifted over to SNK.

According to the announcement made by SNK, Harada will be spearheading a new venture with the company dubbed VS Studio. That's a pretty great name for a studio headed by someone with such a strong history developing fighting games. However, while one might assume with a name like VS and Harada's pedigree that a fighting game is on the way, Yasuyuki Oda, producer of King of Fighters XV and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, said that "to be honest, nothing has been decided yet" regarding what this new studio will be producing.

For his part, Harada's own statements about VS Studio were similarly enigmatic. He describes VS as "Beyond tradition, crafted to perfection" and that the letters represent "our roots in 'Video game Soft (VS Development Division)'; the spirit of 'Versus'; challenging tradition, and many other meanings symbolizing innovation and challenge, such as 'Visionary Standard'; 'Volition Shift,' and 'Vanguard Spirit.'" Alas, while we don't yet know what to expect from VS, Harada concludes by saying they will "aim to deliver the best gaming experiences to users worldwide."

Source: GamesIndustry.biz