Katsuhiro Harada named CEO of new SNK studio in Tokyo

SNK has put Katsuhiro Harada, one of Bandai Namco’s best-known fighting-game veterans, in charge of a new Tokyo studio and is moving to bring that studio into the company as a consolidated subsidiary. VS Studio SNK Co., Ltd. was established on May 1 in Shinagawa, Tokyo, at the Shin-Meguro Tokyu Building, and SNK named Harada as representative director and CEO.

For Nintendo employees watching how leadership talent moves across Japan’s game sector, the signal is bigger than one high-profile hire. SNK is not simply adding a famous name to a chart. It is building a new creative unit around a veteran who spent 31 years at Namco and Bandai Namco, working across arcade, home console and VR titles while also handling global marketing and fighting-game community events. In a market where seasoned studio leaders are scarce, that kind of cross-discipline experience has become a real asset.

SNK said it will support the studio’s launch and intends to make it a consolidated subsidiary. Harada described the studio’s philosophy as “Beyond tradition, crafted to perfection,” and said the “VS” in the name points not only to “Versus” but also to “Video game Soft (VS Development Division),” “Visionary Standard,” “Volition Shift” and “Vanguard Spirit.” That framing matters: the new studio was built to communicate identity as much as output, which is exactly what publishers often want when they are trying to move fast and look credible at the same time.

The appointment also fits SNK’s wider expansion play. The company has said it is pursuing top-10 global publisher status, and it opened SNK Games Singapore in 2024 as part of that push. SNK’s corporate strategy now pairs global ambition with studio building, not just publishing. Harada’s Tokyo base suggests the company wants more direct control over creative leadership while still projecting a broad, international footprint.

Yasuyuki Oda, another prominent SNK figure, called Harada “a long-time friend and a worthy rival,” and said he was extremely proud to welcome him. Harada’s move after leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025, after 31 years there, underscores how valuable experienced directors remain when companies want to create or refresh a studio identity quickly. For Nintendo, the takeaway is clear: senior creative authority is being traded and recruited across Japanese game companies with real urgency, and the strongest leaders are increasingly being asked not just to make games, but to build the studios that make them.