Neo_G departs SNK for new challenges

Hidetoshi "NEO_G" Ishizawa, one of the most seasoned developer in the fighting game field, disclosed before the weekend that he has resigned from his position at SNK to take on new challenges.

Ishizawa is prominently known for his works at Capcom during the golden age of fighting games including Street Fighter: Thirs Strike, Marvel vs Capcom 2, and the Street Fighter Zero and Capcom vs SNK series. He left Capcom to join SNK Playmore in 2016, where he worked on The King Of Fighters XIV and helped the company on its path to rebirth as SNK Corporation.

Ishizawa's announcement came only a week before the worldwide launch of the new Samurai Shodown reboot, which was one of the main goals he had when joining the company. For the project, he pitched the game concept and its overall design, and worked on its overall battle design including balancing. He saw over the project until it went gold, and will be participating as a regular condenter at this year's EVO.

"As some people may have assumed from my recent activities, I have already departed from SNK to take on new challenges", said Ishizawa on Twitter.

"The thing I wanted to do most from joining SNK was a Samurai Shodown reboot, and I really appreciate being able to be a part of it with our staff that made it a reality despite the many hardships. ...Now that I am back to being just a fan, I am looking very forward to playing it."

"I am not that great at the game, haven't touched it in a while, and do not know of the changes in the Day-1 patch. Ergo, my participation [at EVO] will be from almost the same start line as everyone else. I hope that my participation won't end as just a commemoration."