After parting ways with Bandai Namco Studios in June, former Tekken 8 and Tekken 7 director Kohei Ikeda, known by his alias Nakatsu, has revealed that he has now joined VS Studio SNK.
VS Studio is an independent game development studio based in Tokyo, spearheaded by former Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada and backed by the Fatal Fury developer SNK. Harada founded the studio shortly after his departure from Bandai Namco Studios.
On his personal X account, Ikeda shared his thoughts:
Collaborating on games once more with two of my former supervisors brings back a sense of nostalgia, yet the thrill of crafting something entirely new makes each day incredibly rewarding.
Although specifics about VS Studio’s current projects remain undisclosed, CEO Harada has hinted that he is keen on exploring competitive games and meeting the high expectations players have of him. With another veteran from the Tekken series now on the team, the fighting game community can anticipate even more exciting developments from the studio.