Kohei Ikeda Joins VS Studio SNK, Reuniting With Tekken Colleagues
The reunion of Tekken veterans at a new studio backed by SNK points to a competitive fighting game in development, though nothing has been announced.
Reporting from 3 sources: Denfaminicogamer, Automaton, Game Spark.
Kohei Ikeda, known as Nakatsu, announced on August 18 that he joined VS Studio SNK, the studio led by Katsuhiro Harada. Ikeda left Bandai Namco Studios in June after 20 years, where he directed Tekken 8. He now works with former bosses Harada and Yuichi Yonemori on an unannounced game.
Kohei Ikeda, the game designer known as Nakatsu, has joined VS Studio SNK, the development studio established in May with support from SNK. The studio is led by Katsuhiro Harada, who previously worked with Ikeda on the Tekken series at Bandai Namco Studios.
Ikeda left Bandai Namco Studios in June after 20 years, saying his role as director had come to a close and that he would pursue new challenges. He now reunites with Harada and Yuichi Yonemori, both former Tekken colleagues, to develop a game that has not yet been announced.
Harada has said the market and SNK will have expectations, and that something where people compete against each other will be essential. Attention is on what the veteran team will produce.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.