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Kohei Ikeda Joins Katsuhiro Harada at VS Studio
Another familiar face from Tekken has joined Katsuhiro Harada at his newly established development house, with former Tekken 8 director Kohei “Nakatsu” Ikeda confirming his move to VS Studio SNK.
Ikeda left Bandai Namco in June after 20 years with the company, having most recently served as Chief Producer and Game Director on Tekken 8. He also directed Tekken 7, making him one of the most prominent creative figures associated with the series’ recent entries.
At the time of his departure, Ikeda said he planned to continue taking on new challenges as a game developer, but stopped short of revealing where he was heading next. That question has now been answered.
Nakatsu Reunites With Two Former Bosses
Writing on his personal X account, Ikeda confirmed that he has joined VS Studio as the next step in his career. “I’ve joined VS STUDIO as the next step in my journey,” Ikeda wrote, adding that he was once again making games alongside two of his former bosses and describing the situation as nostalgic.
The move reunites him with Harada, who spent more than 30 years at Bandai Namco and became synonymous with the Tekken franchise before leaving the company at the end of 2025. Harada subsequently established VS Studio SNK, which officially opened on May 1.
SNK is supporting the new Tokyo-based studio and plans to make it a consolidated subsidiary, with Harada serving as Representative Director and CEO.
VS Studio Still Has Not Revealed Its First Game
Despite adding another highly experienced fighting game developer, VS Studio has yet to announce exactly what it is working on. SNK says the studio will collaborate with the publisher on game development, while Harada has spoken broadly about combining new technology, creativity and international expertise to create memorable games. No franchise, genre or platform has been confirmed.
That naturally leaves plenty of room for speculation. With Harada and Ikeda now reunited, a fighting game would hardly be surprising, although their backgrounds alone are not enough to confirm that direction.
For now, the bigger story is the amount of veteran development experience assembling under one roof. Ikeda spent two decades working at Bandai Namco, while Harada helped shape Tekken across more than 30 years. Whatever VS Studio eventually reveals, its first project now has another key piece of Tekken history behind it.
