Former Tekken Lead Katsuhiro Harada Sets Up Own Company, VS Studio

Former Tekken director, Katsuhiro Harada, has established his ain crippled improvement company, VS Studio.

Drawing connected his 31 years of acquisition astatine Bandai Namco, Harada has teamed up with SNK Corporation — the developer/publisher champion known for its Neo Geo strategy and warring games similar The King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, and Samurai Showdown — to recovered a workplace that is "beyond tradition, crafted to perfection."

The "VS" portion of the recently formed studio's individuality has "various meanings," reflecting the roots successful Video game Software plan — games, successful different words — arsenic good arsenic "versus" successful the consciousness of taking connected a challenge. According to Harada, it besides holds aggregate different meanings symbolizing innovation and competition, too, including Visionary Standard, Volition Shift, and Vanguard Spirit.

"We volition harvester technology, sensibility, and world-class expertise to prosecute the ultimate," Harada, who volition pb the institution arsenic some typical manager and CEO, said. "From a free, open, and spacious environment, we volition make caller ideas and make memorable games. We established this workplace to bring this imaginativeness to life."

The workplace is headquartered successful Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. It's not yet wide what benignant of crippled Harada is making, but with a storied past successful warring games, we tin astir apt guess.

"Having been progressive successful crippled improvement for galore years, I've perpetually considered however I privation to walk my clip arsenic a developer and what benignant of situation allows developers to execute astatine their best. VS Studio is 1 reply to that question," Harada added.

"By bringing unneurotic exertion and knowledge, and moving with passionate colleagues, we purpose to present the champion gaming experiences to users worldwide. VS Studio aspires to beryllium a workplace that continues to instrumentality connected specified challenges, and we are looking for caller squad members who stock our vision. Please look guardant to the aboriginal of VS Studio."

Harada announced helium would beryllium leaving Bandai Namco backmost successful December, having spoken publically astir his hard narration with some the Tekken franchise and IP holder, Bandai Namco. Tekken 8 had caused a large woody of friction betwixt players and the improvement team, and Harada stepped successful aggregate times connected societal media to code instrumentality concern, including the clip helium addressed a enactment implicit the merchantability of premium signifier DLC.

Prior to that, helium was likewise candid astir wherefore Soul Calibur disappeared, and has spoken astir trying and failing to get KFC mascot Colonel Sanders successful Tekken.

Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.