Katsuhiro Harada, the face of the Tekken franchise for over three decades, has joined SNK and founded a brand new development studio under the publisher, as confirmed by SNK’s official press release. The move lands just months after Harada’s departure from Bandai Namco following a 31-year tenure – and it’s one of the most significant executive shifts the fighting game space has seen in years.
The new studio, officially named VS Studio SNK Co., Ltd., was founded on May 1, 2026, and is headquartered in Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward. Harada serves as both CEO and hands-on Game Director – a deliberate signal that he isn’t stepping into a pure executive role but returning to the craft directly. The “VS” branding carries a double meaning: “Versus” as a challenge to convention, and a nod to the old “Video game Soft” development division designation, per the studio’s official materials. Its website is live at vs-studio.com and recruitment is already underway, though as reported by Invenglobal, SNK’s Yasuyuki Oda confirmed “nothing has been decided yet” on actual game lineups.
Honestly, the lack of a project announcement shouldn’t dampen this – the structural story here is just as compelling as any game reveal. Harada spent the back half of his Bandai Namco career wearing the Tekken brand as much as making games, and VS Studio reads like a deliberate reset toward pure creation. SNK, now operating under Saudi-backed ownership via the Electronic Gaming Development Company, has the financial runway to take big swings – and pairing that backing with a developer of Harada’s caliber is exactly the kind of move that reshapes a publisher’s creative identity. It’s worth noting that the fighting game space is unusually active right now: Capcom continues pushing Street Fighter 6 forward, and Ed Boon has confirmed new Mortal Kombat development is underway – Harada entering that landscape with a fresh mandate is a genuine wildcard.
For fans, the practical reality is that no game has been announced and a project could be years away. VS Studio is still hiring, and SNK will consolidate it as a subsidiary for collaborative development – so this is foundation-laying, not a launch window. The “Versus” name will inevitably fuel speculation about crossover fighters or a project that directly challenges SNK’s own genre legacy, but that’s the community getting ahead of the facts. Watch the @VS_Studio_JP account on X and the studio’s official site for the first concrete hints.
Is VS Studio the dream scenario for Tekken fans – or does Harada being out of the Tekken picture leave the franchise with a gap that Tekken 8’s ongoing content can’t quite fill? Sound off in the comments below, and keep your eyes on GameLuster for more fighting game and SNK coverage.
