Summary
Kenji Matsubara has stepped down as CEO of SNK Corporation following the launch ofFatal Fury: City of the Wolves, ending a nearly three-year stint that included instrumental changes within the company. Matsubara joined the company in August 2021 and oversaw the releases ofThe King of Fighters XVand, most recently,Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. SNK is primarily a developer of fighting games, playing an important role in the fighting game boom of the 1990s.
Despite these efforts, the CEO of the company, Kenji Matsubara, has reportedly left his post. While the company hasn’t revealed any official sales figures, the move to remove Matsubara seems to verify recent unofficial reports regarding the game’s struggles. AlthoughFatal Fury: City of the Wolveswas received by critics fairly well, this praise might not have translated into sales.
SNK Leadership Changes as Fatal Fury Falters
Matsubara’s departure was reported to be very amicable, with the former CEO taking a new position in an advisory role. The official statement didn’t mentionFatal Fury: City of the Wolves, and didn’t connect the dots to any failures during his tenure. However, the timing of the change seems to all but confirm that this decision was at least in part linked toissues withFatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
The company has thanked Matsubara for expanding SNK’s reach and improving innovation. In particular, the publishing network was strengthened, allowing the company to compete in the more global marketplace of today. SNK’s release stated that the board chairman will serve as interim CEO while a permanent replacement is selected.
Even at its peak, right after the April release ofFatal Fury: City of the Wolves, the game could barely muster a tenth of the player base of thealready-established fighting gameStreet Fighter 6. Since then, it has continued to trend downwards, recently struggling to get 1,000 concurrent players.Even Tekken 8, which has been in decline, towered overFatal Fury: City of the Wolvesat its peak. Currently, games likeTekken 7,Mortal Kombat 11, andMortal Kombat 1are much more popular on Steam.
