SNK logo

SNK

Japan Founded 1978 Website

SNK Corporation (株式会社SNK, Kabushiki-gaisha Esu Enu Kē)[7] is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform, and electronics. SNK is known for its creation of the Neo Geo family of arcade, home, and handheld game consoles in 1990. The Neo Geo line was halted in 2001 because financial troubles forced SNK Corporation to close in the same year. Anticipating the end of the company, Kawasaki established Playmore Corporation in 2001, which acquired all of the intellectual property of the first iteration of SNK Corporation. In 2003, Playmore Corporation was renamed to SNK Playmore Corporation. In 2016, SNK dropped the name Playmore from its logo and reintroduced its old slogan, "The Future Is Now", officially changing its corporate name back to SNK.

SNK at a Glance

If you are browsing PlayPile looking for a publisher with deep roots in arcade history, SNK is a name you will encounter frequently. Founded in Japan in 1978, this company has released 226 games across its long run from 1979 to 2025. Their catalog shows a clear shift in output volume over the decades. They released only two titles in the 1970s and thirty-four in the 1980s. The 1990s marked their peak production with 125 games before activity dropped to 35 in the 2000s, 16 in the 2010s, and 13 in the 2020s. SNK built a reputation on arcade hardware and fighting games. Their top genre focus is Arcade with 93 titles, followed closely by Fighting games at 81 releases. They also have significant holdings in Shooters with 43 games and Sports titles with 24. The company created the Neo Geo family of consoles starting in 1990, which explains why 90 of their games are for the Neo Geo AES and 68 are for the Neo Geo CD. After financial troubles forced the original company to close in 2001, the brand was revived by Playmore Corporation in 2003 before reverting to just SNK in 2016. Quality varies across their library but leans toward solid. Their average IGDB rating stands at 68.7 out of 100 based on 85 rated titles. The breakdown shows 13 games are great, 55 are good, 15 are mixed, and 2 are poor. You can find high scores in their classic roster with Pulstar hitting 87 and Neo Turf Masters reaching 85.1. Recent efforts like Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves scored 79, showing they can still produce well-received modern entries. The company has expanded beyond its arcade roots to include PC releases on Microsoft Windows, where they have 54 games. They also maintain a presence on the Wii with 35 titles and have released content for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 4. While their output is smaller now compared to the golden age of the 1990s, SNK remains active with recent releases such as Metal Slug: Attack - Reloaded in June 2024 and the upcoming Fatal Fury sequel in April 2025.

234
Total Games
68.7
Avg Rating
1979
First Release
2025
Latest Release

Genre Breakdown

Arcade
30%
Fighting
24%
Shooter
14%
Sport
7%
Platform
4%

Platform Spread

Arcade
106
Neo Geo AES
90
Neo Geo CD
68
Neo Geo MVS
66
PC (Microsoft Windows)
58

Release Timeline

1970s
2
1980s
34
1990s
125
2000s
35
2010s
22
2020s
15

Rating Distribution

13
80-100
55
60-79
15
40-59
2
0-39
The King of Fighters '98: Special Edition game cover

The King of Fighters '98: Special Edition

1998·Neo Geo CD
Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus Color game cover

Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus Color

1998·Neo Geo Pocket Color
The Last Blade 2 game cover
Rating 8.1

The Last Blade 2

1998·PS4, PC, Wii +6
King of Fighters R-1 game cover

King of Fighters R-1

1998·Neo Geo Pocket
Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage game cover

Samurai Shodown 64: Warriors Rage

1998·Hyper Neo Geo 64
Gauntlet Legends game cover
Rating 7.7

Gauntlet Legends

1998·Arcade
Beast Busters: Second Nightmare game cover

Beast Busters: Second Nightmare

1998·Hyper Neo Geo 64
The King of Fighters: Kyo game cover

The King of Fighters: Kyo

1998·PS3, PS1, PSP
Real Bout Garou Densetsu Best Collection game cover

Real Bout Garou Densetsu Best Collection

1998·Saturn
The King of Fighters '98 game cover
Rating 6.9

The King of Fighters '98

1998·PS3, Android, iOS +6
Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated Mind game cover

Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated Mind

1998·PS3, PS1, PSP
Xtreme Rally game cover

Xtreme Rally

1998·Hyper Neo Geo 64
Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers game cover
Rating 8.0

Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers

1998·PC, Linux, Mac +4
Blazing Star game cover
Rating 7.1

Blazing Star

1998·PC, Linux, Mac +5
Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus game cover

Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus

1998·Neo Geo Pocket
Puzzle Link game cover

Puzzle Link

1998·Neo Geo Pocket Color, Neo Geo Pocket
Neo Geo Cup '98: The Road to the Victory game cover

Neo Geo Cup '98: The Road to the Victory

1998·Arcade, neogeoaes, neogeomvs +1
Samurai Shodown 64 game cover

Samurai Shodown 64

1997·Hyper Neo Geo 64
The Last Blade game cover
Rating 7.1

The Last Blade

1997·PS3, PC, Linux +9
The Irritating Maze game cover

The Irritating Maze

1997·neogeomvs
Road's Edge game cover

Road's Edge

1997·Hyper Neo Geo 64
The King of Fighters '97 game cover
Rating 71

The King of Fighters '97

1997·PS3, Android, iOS +8
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special game cover
Rating 8.1

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special

1997·Wii, Arcade, Saturn +2
Twinkle Star Sprites game cover
Rating 6.7

Twinkle Star Sprites

1996·PC, Linux, Mac +7
Waku Waku 7 game cover
Rating 7.0

Waku Waku 7

1996·Wii, Arcade, Saturn +2
Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge game cover
Rating 7.3

Samurai Shodown IV: Amakusa's Revenge

1996·PS3, PC, Wii +6
Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle game cover

Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle

1996·neogeoaes, neogeomvs
Ryuuko No Ken Gaiden game cover

Ryuuko No Ken Gaiden

1996·Neo Geo CD
The King of Fighters '96 game cover
Rating 7.2

The King of Fighters '96

1996·PS3, Wii, Arcade +5
Pleasure Goal game cover

Pleasure Goal

1996·neogeoaes, Neo Geo CD, neogeomvs
Ninja Master's: Haou Ninpou-ko game cover

Ninja Master's: Haou Ninpou-ko

1996·PC, Wii, neogeoaes +2
Oshidashi Zintrick game cover

Oshidashi Zintrick

1996·Neo Geo CD
Ragnagard game cover

Ragnagard

1996·Arcade, Saturn, neogeoaes +2
Art of Fighting 3: The Path of The Warrior game cover
Rating 6.6

Art of Fighting 3: The Path of The Warrior

1996·PC, Wii, Arcade +3
The Ultimate 11: SNK Football Championship game cover

The Ultimate 11: SNK Football Championship

1996·Arcade, neogeoaes, neogeomvs
Stakes Winner 2 game cover

Stakes Winner 2

1996·PS1, Saturn, neogeoaes +1
Over Top game cover

Over Top

1996·neogeoaes, Neo Geo CD, neogeomvs
Neo Turf Masters game cover
Rating 8.5

Neo Turf Masters

1996·PC, Android, iOS +6
Real Bout Fatal Fury game cover
Rating 8.0

Real Bout Fatal Fury

1995·PS3, Wii, Arcade +5
Neo Geo CD Special game cover

Neo Geo CD Special

1995·Neo Geo CD
Samurai Shodown III game cover
Rating 6.8

Samurai Shodown III

1995·PS3, PC, Wii +6
Stakes Winner game cover

Stakes Winner

1995·Wii, PS1, Saturn +3
Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer game cover

Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer

1995·PS3, Arcade, PS1 +3
The King of Fighters '95 game cover
Rating 6.7

The King of Fighters '95

1995·PS3, Wii, Arcade +5
Savage Reign game cover

Savage Reign

1995·neogeoaes, Neo Geo CD, neogeomvs
Double Dragon game cover
Rating 5.5

Double Dragon

1995·PS3, Vita, PS1 +4
Quiz King of Fighters game cover

Quiz King of Fighters

1995·neogeoaes, Neo Geo CD, neogeomvs
Pulstar game cover
Rating 6.6

Pulstar

1995·PC, Arcade, neogeoaes +2