2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the first King of Fighters entry, and there’s been a lot of celebrations going around from the release of classic concept art to weird health equipment collaborations.
Now, it seems that KOF 30th Anniversary Project is coming to an end with the 30th and final reveal being the rise of something new.
SNK has announced the establishment of the “KOF Studio” with the tag line “Revolutionize the legacy” though we’re not really sure what means exactly.
There is an official website available for the new studio now, which doesn’t really clear things up much.
“Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, The King of Fighters, and more— SNK fighting games have thrilled and delighted fans worldwide ever since their landmark debut in the 1990s,” reads the site’s message.
“The 30th anniversary of The King of Fighters brings with it another milestone: the launch of the all-new KOF Studio.
“KOF Studio will proudly carry on the storied legacy of our iconic fighting game IPs while driving their evolution well into the future.
“Get ready for the new battles ahead as SNK gears up for the revolution at hand, and remember: The dream match never ends!”
KOF 30th Anniversary Project Part 30
To coincide with the 30th anniversary of THE KING OF FIGHTERS, we are happy to announce the establishment of KOF Studio!
KOF Studio will proudly carry on the 30-year legacy of SNK fighting games while also bringing forth a new… pic.twitter.com/VgSsWnn0bK— KOF STUDIO (@KOFstudio_en) December 29, 2024
They then go on to list SNK’s modern fighting game projects even outside of King of Fighters including Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Samurai Shodown and SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy.
There’s also a spot with some concept artwork for the upcoming Samurai Shodown action RPG featuring Yashamaru.
And that’s pretty much it.
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The X / Twitter page for the KOF Studio has existed for months now as the vehicle for sharing the KOF 30th Anniversary Project updates, but it sounds as though it’ll be used for something different moving forward.
It could be this KOF Studio is a specialized part of SNK’s existing development teams that handle their fighting game properties (apparently even if the title isn’t a fighter itself like the upcoming SamSho spin-off).
We’re also curious if the KOF Studio is connected to the SNK Universe Project from last year that aims to bring Fatal Fury, KOF, and SamSho to other forms of media like manga, anime and film with all this talk of IPs and evolution.
Or perhaps it’s just new branding for SNK’s fighting game PR to share news and announcements, however, considering the studio was their final “anniversary reveal”, we expect there to be more to it than that.
No matter what this KOF Studio is, SNK looks to be expanding their horizons and reach moving forward with their fighting game properties.
The company also just recently revealed Gato as the latest character coming to Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves’ launch roster.