SNK

SNK Corporation, a Japanese video game developer and publisher, started life in 1978 as Shin Nihon Kikaku (New Japan Project), founded by Eikichi Kawasaki. The company quickly made its mark in arcades, but its defining moment came with the Neo Geo arcade system in the 1990s. That hardware became the home for a string of beloved franchises: Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, and the flagship series The King of Fighters. SNK continues to release new entries in these series on modern platforms, balancing its arcade roots with home console releases.

Financial troubles forced the original SNK to close in 2001, but founder Kawasaki had already set up Playmore Corporation, which snapped up all of SNK's intellectual property. Playmore renamed itself to SNK Playmore in 2003, then dropped "Playmore" in 2016. In 2022, the company was acquired by Electronic Gaming Development Company, a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Misk Foundation. Today, SNK also produces pachislot machines, mobile games, and licenses its characters widely, keeping its classic fighting-game legacy alive.

SNK competes directly with Capcom, Bandai Namco, and Arc System Works in the fighting game genre. Its niche is a deep roster of 1990s icons and a loyal fanbase that prizes competitive gameplay. For the fiscal year ending March 2021, SNK reported net sales of ¥9.1 billion (about $60 million USD) and operating profit of ¥2.4 billion (about $15 million USD). The company's valuation is not public, but the 2022 acquisition was estimated at $500 million to $1 billion.[edit]