SNK has announced that its CEO will be stepping down, following the release of its heavily marketed latest fighting game.
The company announced that Kenji Matsubara, who joined as CEO in August 2021, will “transition to an advisory role, where he will continue to lend his expertise and vision”.
“During his tenure as CEO, Mr. Matsubara has been instrumental in driving the company’s growth and innovation,” a statement reads.
“He transformed SNK by expanding its development division and strengthening its sales and marketing functions, building it into a global publisher capable of competing worldwide.
“As part of this transition, the board will appoint the Chairman of the board to assume the interim role of CEO. The board expresses its deepest gratitude to Mr. Matsubara for his dedication and leadership during a transformative period in the company’s history.
“SNK Corporation remains committed to its strategic vision and is excited about the future as it enters this new phase of leadership.”
Although it wasn’t officially cited as the reason Matsubara is stepping down, the news comes weeks after the release of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, which was promoted with one of the grandest marketing campaigns in recent memory.
While no official sales figures have been shared for City of the Wolves, there is some evidence it may not have performed as well as hoped.
The fighter sold only 6,302 copies in Japan in its first 11 days, according to Famitsu. On Steam, the game has an all-time peak concurrent player number of 4,674 – which is lower than even its recent beta – and in the last 24 hours hit a peak of 1,157.
By comparison, Street Fighter 6 hit a peak concurrent of more than 32,000 players in its last 24 hours, despite being nearly two years old, and Tekken 8‘s recent 24-hour peak was 6,841 (but has an all-time peak of 49,977 when it was released 16 months ago).
While sales figures of the console versions outside of Japan are not yet known, the game didn’t appear in Sony‘s official Top 20 PS5 charts for April in either North America or Europe.
SNK is owned by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who acquired 96% of the acclaimed Japanese developer in 2022. Its latest game has been featured in numerous high-profile marketing stunts, most of which have ties to the Crown Prince’s other ventures.
Iconic footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was added to the game as a playable fighter. Ronaldo currently plays for Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, 75% of which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which is also controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
EDM DJ Salvatore Ganacci is also in the game as a playable fighter. Ganacci has also been involved in numerous Saudi-backed events, and earlier this year performed at a golf event in Riyadh run by LIV Golf, which is also financed by the Public Investment Fund.
The game was also heavily promoted at the two-night WWE WrestleMania event in April, with the logo featured in the centre of the ring mat and Saturday’s show opening with a performance by Ganacci, dressed in his Fatal Fury outfit.
WWE also has strong ties with Saudi Arabia, having announced a 10-year partnership with its Ministry of Sport in 2018, along with a commitment to hold two large-scale events per year in Riyadh and Jeddah until at least 2027.
Other big-budget promotional stunts for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves included numerous high-profile boxing events, each of which was named Fatal Fury and sponsored by the game and The Ring magazine (which was bought by the head of Riyadh Season in November 2024). This included the Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Bennn fight last month and a fight in Times Square earlier this month.
