The King of Fighters XV

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The King of Fighters XV
Kofxvcover.png
Developer(s)SNK
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Eisuke Ogura
Producer(s)Yasuyuki Oda
Artist(s)Tomohiro Nakata
SeriesThe King of Fighters
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
ReleaseFebruary 17, 2022
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The King of Fighters XV[a], also called KOF XV, is an upcoming fighting game developed by SNK. It is scheduled for release on February 17, 2022 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. This is also the first game in The King of Fighters series to use Unreal Engine 4.

Gameplay and premise[]

Like its predecessors, The King of Fighters XV uses a fighting system involving teams composed of three fighters. The parry system also returns under the name Shatter Strike. It also reincorporates the common MAX Mode system where fighters can use stronger techniques once energy bars are filled. The game features a wide variety of online modes, including Ranked Match, Casual Match, Room Match, and Online Training. [1]

The story focuses on how Verse, the creature from KOF XIV, has caused mayhem and a woman known as Chizuru Kagura gathers the fighters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami in order to look after the seal of the demon Orochi.[2]

Characters[]

See also: List of The King of Fighters characters

The King of Fighters XV is set to launch with 13 teams of 39 playable fighters, with six further fighters planned as paid downloadable content. Newcomers are marked in bold.

Development[]

Due to positive response to the marketing of The King of Fighters XIV, director Yasuyuki Oda said in August 2017 The King of Fighters XV was possible, but the company SNK also wanted to focus on other franchises.[5] Oda instead worked in a spin-off, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, a female character-driven fighting game and a spiritual sequel of SNK Gals' Fighters.[6] In December 2018, SNK revealed the company was working on The King of Fighters XV, aiming to release it during 2020.[7] Feeling the previous title had outdated graphics for a 2016 game, SNK chairman Zhihui Ge said that XV will use the Unreal Engine 4 to provide a better presentation.[8]

At Evo 2019, SNK announced that the game was in development.[9] The title's creative director is Eisuke Ogura, who has previously worked as an artist on the series, beginning with The King of Fighters 2001. Most notably, he served as the main illustrator for The King of Fighters XIII and XIV. The director of King of Fighters XIV, Yasuyuki Oda, will serve as the title's producer.[10] Character design is being handled by Tomohiro Nakata, which also working on The King of Fighters All Star.[11]

Originally, the game was set to be released in 2020.[12] However, in late December, Oda and Ogura revealed the game would see release in 2021 with more content yet to be explored. During these announcements, the two developers revealed sketches of Shun'ei, Kyo Kusanagi and Benimaru Nikaido, with the former being set to be the protagonist of the new game. Ogura called it "our most ambitious KOF yet".[12] An official trailer was set for January 7, 2021 but was delayed for unknown reasons alongside the downloadable content for Samurai Shodown.[13] The trailer was, instead, revealed the next day and included game footage of Kyo, Shun'ei, Benimaru, K', Mai Shiranui and Leona Heidern, while also confirming a 2021 release.[14]

The team focused on improving the visuals and increasing the fast-paced gameplay by adding new elements which have yet to be explained. In promoting the title, anime director Masami Ōbari (who previously worked on Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, and designed 1995 Technōs Japan's Neo Geo fighting game Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer as well as providing the voice of Brider in the game) is making a short anime based on the series.[10]

In February 2021, Oda announced on his personal Twitter account that the team is working on implementing an internal rollback-based netcode similar to GGPO for the game.[15] The team aims to improve the gameplay and graphics while also providing a more interesting story than the one from XIV.[16]

In June 2021, SNK announced that the game would be delayed to the first quarter of 2022, due to rising cases of COVID-19 in Japan.[17][18] In July 2021, SNK announced that the game would be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows via the Microsoft Store, Epic Games Store and Steam.[19] The game's worldwide release will be handled by the unannounced Embracer Group's Koch Media companies.[20]

References[]

  1. ^ "The King of Fighters XV launches February 17, 2022". Gematsu. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "Prologue". SNK. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  3. ^ "KOF XV". SNK (in Japanese). Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. ^ KOF XV｜CHIZURU KAGURA｜Character Trailer #7 (4K) 【TEAM SACRED TREASURES】. February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Moreno, Tania (August 18, 2017). "Yasuyuki Oda y Hayato Watanabe hablan sobre el Desarrollo Y Futuro de KOF" [Yasuyuki Oda and Hayato Watanabe talk about the Development and Future of KOF]. IGN (in Spanish). Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  6. ^ "Yasuyuki Oda on SNK Heroines' Sexualization, Accessibility, And Competitive Audiences". Game Informer. February 9, 2018. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  7. ^ "SNK, 사무라이 스피리츠와 'KOF XV' 개발 진행 중" [SNK, Samurai Spirits and'KOF XV' in progress]. Ruliweb. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  8. ^ "SNK 갈지휘 회장 겸 개발총괄 "언리얼 엔진 사용 확대, KOF15도 언리얼로 개발중"" [SNK Chairman Gal Ji-Hwi and Head of Development "Expanding the use of Unreal Engine, KOF15 is also being developed with Unreal"]. GameFocus. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  9. ^ Sato. "The King of Fighters XV Officially Announced At Evo 2019, Currently In Development". Siliconera. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "The King of Fighters XV launches in 2021, reveal trailer and screenshots". Gematsu. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  11. ^ SNK [@SNKPofficial] (February 18, 2021). "【KOF XV】 SNK dev for [KOF XV] shares their thoughts on KYO KUSANAGI. The character designer for KYO KUSANAGI goes a bit in-depth on his design process! #SNK #KOF #KOF15" (Tweet). Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Sato. "The King of Fighters XV Is Being Planned For A 2020 Release". Siliconera. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  13. ^ "KOF XV and Samurai Shodown Announcements Delayed". Siliconera. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  14. ^ "KOF XV Reveal Includes Mai, Kyo, Leona, and Shun'ei". Siliconera. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  15. ^ Holland, Naquan (February 26, 2021). "King of Fighters 15 Getting Rollback Netcode". GameRant. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "How King of Fighters has survived for 27 years". Polygon. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  17. ^ "Versus Battle Fighting Game THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV now slated for Q1 2022 release". SNK. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  18. ^ "THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV: uscita posticipata al 2022". Akiba Gamers. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "【THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV】 KOF XV will launch on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X/S, Windows 10, Steam, and the Epic Games Store Q1 2022!". Twitter. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  20. ^ Romano, Sal (6 July 2021). "The King of Fighters XV confirmed for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 6 July 2021.

Notes[]

  1. ^ Japanese: ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ XV, Hepburn: Za Kingu Obu Faitāzu XV

External links[]

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