Katsuhiro Harada Says SNK Can Help Revive Japan’s Golden Game Era
Katsuhiro Harada, longtime producer of the Tekken fighting game series, has joined SNK as the head of its Tokyo-based VS Studio. Harada departed Bandai Namco at the end of 2025 after spending more than three decades with the company, where he became the public face of Tekken’s development and evolution.
In a recent interview with VGC, Harada outlined his vision for VS Studio and SNK’s broader mission. He believes the studio can play a significant role in reviving what he describes as Japan’s “golden era” in the game industry. According to Harada, SNK’s competitive advantage lies in its culture of game-focused leadership and a genuine passion for gaming among its staff.
Harada emphasized that what distinguishes SNK from many other Japanese game companies is the organization’s commitment to games themselves rather than other priorities. He noted that people within SNK genuinely love making games, positioning this as a cultural foundation for the studio’s future direction. This game-centric philosophy, Harada suggests, is essential to revitalizing the Japanese gaming industry.
The move represents a significant moment for both Harada and SNK. After defining his career through Tekken’s evolution, Harada is now positioned to shape SNK’s creative direction and help establish new intellectual properties. SNK, known historically for arcade and fighting games, appears to be positioning VS Studio as a key initiative in its efforts to reclaim relevance and drive innovation in the contemporary gaming landscape.