SNK is hiring staff to work on a Samurai Shodown action RPG
SNK has revealed that they will work on a new Samurai Shodown action RPG. The company has also opened a new webpage that reveals their intent to recruit new staff members who will work on this new project.
A total of 12 job positions are listed on the webpage. The openings are as follows:
- Motion Artist
- Model Artist
- Effect Artist
- 2D Character Artist
- 2D Background Artist
- Background Model Artist
- UI (User Interface) Artist
- TA (Technical) Artist
- Programmer
- Sound Director
- Level & Scenario Planner
- Battle Planner
Most of the jobs listed are pretty straightforward, but the Programmer slot specifically notes that this game will be developed with Unreal Engine 5. While the game will mostly feature 3D CG, the company is still hiring 2D artists to work on things like concept art and character designs.
As a reminder, most of the entries in the Samurai Shodown series—originally known in Japan as Samurai Spirits—are 1v1 fighting games. The inaugural entry appeared in 1993, and SNK released the newest entry, which used the same title without any numbering or subtitles for PC and consoles, in 2019.
While this new game will be the first action RPG spinoff of the franchise, there actually used to be a classic RPG spinoff released earlier. Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushido Retsuden appeared exclusively in Japan for Neo Geo CD, Sega Saturn, and Sony PlayStation on June 27, 1997. Even though it never received an official localization, a complete English fan translation patch of the game was completed recently this February.
