SNK CEO Kenji Matsubara has stepped down from company leadership to take an advisory role, per a press release from SNK Corporation. Per this release, Matsubara was “instrumental in driving the company’s growth and innovation” over the last few years, but he will now step down, as the company embarks on a new phase.
“[Matsubara] transformed SNK by expanding its development division and strengthening its sales and marketing functions, building it into a global publisher capable of competing worldwide,” SNK said. “The board expresses its deepest gratitude to Mr. Matsubara for his dedication and leadership during a transformative period in the company’s history.”
With Matsubara departing his position, the Chairman of the board will now become the company’s interim CEO, until a new leader is chosen.
In its announcement, SNK did not specify the reasons for Matsubara’s departure, although various outlets have pointed to the seeming commercial failure of SNK’s most recent release, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, as possible explanation.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves appears to be a commercial failure
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves was positioned as a flagship release for SNK, and had the marketing campaign to prove it. With pop culture tie-ins and major celebrity guest stars (Cristiano Ronaldo), it’s clear a lot of money was poured into this release (with plenty contributed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which owns a major stake in SNK).
Read: SNK is now 96% owned by Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Regardless of this marketing spend, it appears the appetite for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves simply isn’t there. While exact sales statistics haven’t been revealed by SNK, data found elsewhere suggests it’s failed to find a core audience. SteamDB notes the PC version of the game has achieved an all-time peak of just 4,674 users since launch. The game’s 24-hour peak, as of 15 May, is just 1,157.
Famitsu reported the game reached 10th place in the Japanese sales charts on launch, behind Minecraft, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and a range of other older games.
This is all despite Fatal Fury being very well-received by critics and audience members alike. It’s widely regarded as being a triumphant return for the tenured series, with its art style and snappy gameplay being particularly worthy of praise. Conversations around the game remain very positive. It even has a Metacritic score of 80, which is a rarity.
At this stage, it’s unclear what happened with Fatal Fury. It could be that the franchise has lost its cultural esteem, and that it’s since been eclipsed by other, more prolific fighting games. SNK being tied so closely to Saudi Arabia could also have contributed, with plenty of folks made uncomfortable by the connection. Ronaldo’s inclusion also seems to have sparked much discourse.
Whatever the case, it appears Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves has not performed as expected. It’s an assumption to say that inspired the decision for Kenji Matsubara to step down, but the timing – just a few weeks after Fatal Fury released – is worth noting.
