SNK’s recently released 30th anniversary information finally begins to have clues that look more like “actual development.” According to a new job opening on SNK’s official website, Osaka Studio is recruiting 2D dot matrix animators. Therefore, the outside world speculates that the new project of “Metal Slug” in the previous trailer is likely to return to the series’ most signature detailed pixel route, rather than directly going to the 2.5D solution that was common in recent years. If this job vacancy does correspond to the restart project, it means that SNK has given a clear signal at least in terms of art direction.
The arcade screen says “Mission Reboot” and the dune scene says “A New Adventure Awaits”
Last weekend, SNK launched a 30th anniversary commemorative video. The content first reviewed the previous generations of “Metal Slug”, and then released two new project hints at the end: one is an arcade machine screen showing “Mission Reboot”, and the other is a dune scene with the words “A New Adventure Awaits”. Almost at the same time, the 30th anniversary website was also launched simultaneously, mentioning “many new projects including games.” However, the official has not officially disclosed the specific types of these new projects, nor has it been confirmed whether they are pure pixels, 2.5D, or other visual directions.
The financial relationship between SNK and Saudi Arabia was once again named, and praise and doubts occurred at the same time
Another main thread that has been mentioned repeatedly in this wave of news is SNK’s current relationship with Saudi Arabian funds. The report pointed out that the current owner of SNK has connections with the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (MiSK), and this background has long been accompanied by criticism on human rights issues. For this reason, every time SNK launches a new project, community discussions often involve “expectations for the work itself” and “controversies over funding sources” in parallel. This time the topic of the 30th anniversary of “Metal Slug” is no exception.
SNK announces the sale of Neo Geo AES+ and re-release of the original “Metal Slug”
In addition to hints of a reboot, SNK also recently announced that it is cooperating with Plaion Replai, a subsidiary of Embracer, to launch Neo Geo AES+ (a remake of a classic home console) and re-release it with a number of SNK works, including the original “Metal Slug”. This project also received polarizing responses from the community: on one side, there was support from nostalgic players, and on the other side, there were questions about the relationship between SNK and related capital. Based on the current information, the complete form of “Metal Slug”‘s new game has not yet been disclosed, but the two signals of “restarting” and “pixel tendency” are already more concrete than previous rumors.