SNK Entertainment created to farm retro IP

Japanese publisher and former Neo Geo platform holder SNK Playmore has created a new subsidiary in an effort to make the most of its rich stable of IP.

SNK Entertainment will work to find a way to use the company’s 200+ franchises, which include classics such as Metal Slug, Fatal Frame, King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown.

"SNK Entertainment has been formed to bring back many of our once dormant IPs and serve as a starting point for the development of new SNK digital content, collaborations, license business, merchandise etcetera, as well as the creation of a wide variety of content both reinforcing and bringing the SNK brand back to the forefront going forward," the company explained.

The old SNK launched the Neo Geo back in 1990. The company’s final hardware launch, the Neo Geo Pocket Colour, hit in 1999.

SNK eventually closed in 2001 before one of its founders Eikichi Kawasaki acquired its licenses via his new company Playmore, marking the creation of SNK Playmore. In 2015 SNK Playmore was acquired by Chinese investors, essentially on the back of its IP library.