SNK is planning to revive a classic ‘non-fighting game IP’

SNK has announced that it will collaborate with ARIKA to revive one of its classic franchises.

The revival will be for a non-fighting game franchise in SNK’s back catalogue, it said in an announcement on Tuesday.

“The company owns over 200 SNK-branded game contents, including Neo Geo, and is currently promoting revamping to revive and revive past IPs.

“As part of this effort, we have decided to collaborate with ARIKA, which has excellent game development capabilities and is familiar with our IP.”

The most prominent non-fighting game title in SNK’s catalogue is arguably Metal Slug, which hasn’t received a new entry in its franchise since 2008. Metal Slug 7 was released on the Nintendo DS.

Metal Slug XX, a compilation of several Metal Slug titles, was released in 2009, and then a decade later on PS4 and PC.

Developer ARIKA is known for the recently announced Endless Ocean Luminous as well as Chocobo GP, Super Mario Bros. 35, and Pac-Man 99.  They also served as a support studio for Tekken 7 and Tekken 8.

SNK is 96% owned by Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who acquired almost all of the company in 2022.

Through his Electronic Gaming Development Company, the Prince now owns almost all of the Japanese publisher.