SNK has officially reconfirmed two high-profile projects: a reboot of the classic Art of Fighting series and a Samurai Shodown entry being developed as an action RPG.
The announcements were reiterated at EVO 2024 by SNK representative Joshua Weatherford and build on earlier comments from Yasuyuki Oda, General Manager of SNK Software Development Division 1.
Background and context
SNK’s Art of Fighting (Ryūko no Ken in Japan) is a 1990s fighting series that last saw a canonical release with Art of Fighting 3 in 1996.
Samurai Shodown is a long-running samurai-themed fighting franchise that has previously inspired spin-offs, including the RPG Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden.
SNK is also actively working on Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
What SNK said at EVO 2024
Joshua Weatherford told attendees that SNK has multiple projects in development and that two announced titles — a new Art of Fighting and a Samurai Shodown action RPG — remain priorities.
Weatherford emphasized the company is expanding teams to support those projects and encouraged developers interested in working on the franchises to apply, stating that SNK needs more staff to complete “these crazy awesome games.” He confirmed that South Town will return in the new Art of Fighting entry and described the Samurai Shodown project as one that will include several surprises.
Earlier developer comments (September 2023)
In a September 2023 interview with Japanese outlet 4Gamer, Yasuyuki Oda explained the Art of Fighting reboot was at a very early stage and that SNK was still forming the development team.
Oda said the studio is rethinking how to modernize the series rather than producing a direct sequel to the 1990s entries.
Regarding Samurai Shodown, Oda said that project had progressed beyond mere brainstorming: SNK explored an action-RPG approach inspired in part by earlier Samurai Shodown–themed RPG experiments and had even produced a pre-pandemic prototype before restructuring and reassessing the scope.
What we know (verified)
- SNK reconfirmed a new Art of Fighting and a Samurai Shodown action RPG at EVO 2024. - Joshua Weatherford and Yasuyuki Oda are the company representatives associated with these updates. - Art of Fighting’s last mainline entry dates to 1996. - SNK is concurrently developing Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
SNK’s statements make clear both projects remain active but at different stages of development.
The company has publicly called for new hires to expand development teams; beyond that, SNK has not published release dates or platform details for either title.
The announcements were reiterated at EVO 2024 by SNK representative Joshua Weatherford and build on earlier comments from Yasuyuki Oda, General Manager of SNK Software Development Division 1.
Background and context
SNK’s Art of Fighting (Ryūko no Ken in Japan) is a 1990s fighting series that last saw a canonical release with Art of Fighting 3 in 1996.
Samurai Shodown is a long-running samurai-themed fighting franchise that has previously inspired spin-offs, including the RPG Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden.
SNK is also actively working on Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
What SNK said at EVO 2024
Joshua Weatherford told attendees that SNK has multiple projects in development and that two announced titles — a new Art of Fighting and a Samurai Shodown action RPG — remain priorities.
Weatherford emphasized the company is expanding teams to support those projects and encouraged developers interested in working on the franchises to apply, stating that SNK needs more staff to complete “these crazy awesome games.” He confirmed that South Town will return in the new Art of Fighting entry and described the Samurai Shodown project as one that will include several surprises.
Earlier developer comments (September 2023)
In a September 2023 interview with Japanese outlet 4Gamer, Yasuyuki Oda explained the Art of Fighting reboot was at a very early stage and that SNK was still forming the development team.
Oda said the studio is rethinking how to modernize the series rather than producing a direct sequel to the 1990s entries.
Regarding Samurai Shodown, Oda said that project had progressed beyond mere brainstorming: SNK explored an action-RPG approach inspired in part by earlier Samurai Shodown–themed RPG experiments and had even produced a pre-pandemic prototype before restructuring and reassessing the scope.
What we know (verified)
- SNK reconfirmed a new Art of Fighting and a Samurai Shodown action RPG at EVO 2024. - Joshua Weatherford and Yasuyuki Oda are the company representatives associated with these updates. - Art of Fighting’s last mainline entry dates to 1996. - SNK is concurrently developing Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
SNK’s statements make clear both projects remain active but at different stages of development.
The company has publicly called for new hires to expand development teams; beyond that, SNK has not published release dates or platform details for either title.
