Atlus USA officially announced today that they are handling the publishing for the North American release of King of Fighters XIV, the newest upcoming release of the longstanding King of Fighters franchise of fighting games. To celebrate this announcement and to bolster promote the game, Atlus has launched their own website for King of Fighters XIV and has authored a press release detailing some key features.
King of Fighters is a series of 2D fighting games that pits one team of three player-controlled characters against an opponent’s team of three characters. It has long been one of SNK-Playmore’s premier franchises. It has something of a reputation for demanding technical execution for advanced combos and fast-paced gameplay, but these are also considered charm points and high-level matches can be very intense (if EVO 2014 is any indication!) King of Fighters XIV also marks the franchise’s first entry into using 3D models for characters; King of Fighters XIII used sprites instead of 3D models that moved on a 2D plane. Guilty Gear is another series that made the transition to 3D models between Guilty Gear XX and Guilty Gear Xrd; now, one of the last remaining sprite-based 2D fighters is Blazblue.
Check out the website here. There’s not a lot on it at the moment, just a few screenshots and an announcement video. Watch the video (showcasing some gameplay and new characters) below!
We will reproduce the press release at this article’s end. Some items of note include the 50-character roster (19 of which are new,) efforts to improve netplay (online match spectating!,) and the promise of a strong single-player story mode. Gameplay mechanics are also revamped and there are also beginner-friendly gameplay options that may be utilized.
A few days ago, RiceDigital uploaded an article which speculated that Atlus USA would be publishing the North American release of King of Fighters XIV. Thus far, SNK-Playmore (the developer of the King of Fighters series, and a company with a long history in video game software and hardware) had been handling publishing for the KOF games – with the exception of King of FIghters XII, which was handled by Atlus USA. It was also announced last year that the Chinese technology company Leyou had acquired SNK-Playmore.
Atlus has published several third party games (especially RPGs) in the past. Now that Atlus’s assimilation into Sega is complete, I wonder if Sega’s Western branches may be taking on this same spirit of game publishing that Atlus has done in the past.
In any case, this is good news for KOF fans and fighting game fans in North America, and hopefully Europe will have a release option announced for them soon. The game is due for release in North America and Japan this year. You can find some screenshots of the game featuring the characters Kukri and Mui Mui below the press release.
The legendary fighters in the upcoming THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV will be making their stateside debut thanks to a partnership between SNK PLAYMORE and Atlus U.S.A. The vaunted fighting game series, which first made its debut 1994, is entering a new evolution with THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV thanks to series-first 3D graphics and debuting exclusively on the PlayStation 4 console. THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV will arrive to consoles later in 2016.
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV Feature Details:
• 3D Evolution: All 50 fighters, movesets and more are rendered in full 3D graphics that preserves the essence of KOF’s visual style but updates it with a whole new dimension.
• The Best Refinement since KOF ’98: Through extensive playtesting and balancing, the controls have been streamlined, and the Combo and Max Mode mechanics have been overhauled to create the most competitive fighter in SNK’s history.
• The KOF Saga Continues: There’s a robust single-player storyline where several years have passed since the previous KOF tournament. Now a worldwide business, the global KOF will decide who is the strongest as both individuals and companies with their own ambitions have come to compete. Players compete against CPU-controlled opponents to unlock the storyline.
• The Best Roster Yet: There are 50 fighters total, with 31 returning from previous entries into the KOF series, and 19 brand new characters. All 50 characters will be available at the game’s launch.
• Revamped Online Experience: THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV has devoted a lot of development time to improving the game’s netcode for vastly improved online gameplay. KOF XIV uses the PS4’s online architecture to have a whole host of online conveniences, from spectating to saving replay/battle data, and having a single online KOF XIV profile to connect with friends.
