Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves – Our Interview with SNK About Season 2

Fresh off its prestigious accolade as the Best Fighting Game of 2025 at the Game Awards, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves is wasting no time building upon its momentum. SNK has officially pulled back the curtain on Season 2, set to debut on January 22, 2026, signaling a long-term commitment to the franchise’s revival. This next phase features an aggressive roadmap of six additional combatants, slated for release at a steady monthly cadence through June 2026. We had the privilege of sitting down with Producer Shinya Tamaki and Game Director Hayato Konya to discuss this ambitious expansion and the philosophy driving the game’s evolution.

Featured Guests:

• Shinya Tamaki: Producer, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
• Hayato Konya: Game Director, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

Maxime Chao: Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves concluded the year by securing the Game Award for Best Fighting Game. What was the atmosphere like within the SNK team when that recognition was announced?

SNK: The memory of that moment is still incredibly vivid; the collective joy in the office was palpable. Seeing that level of validation has only fueled our fire. It has inspired the entire team to push even harder to refine this title and ensure it continues to captivate the fighting game community on a global scale.

You’ve detailed a Season 2 roadmap featuring six characters released at a rate of one per month. Why was it so vital for you to maintain such a relentless release schedule?

With the resurgence of Fatal Fury, we are acutely aware of the profound emotional ties fans have with the legacy roster. Our primary objective is to bridge that gap and ensure that players can reconnect with the characters they grew up with. This high-frequency release cycle is our way of honoring that nostalgia and keeping the experience fresh for the competitive scene.

Several iconic names like Cheng Sinzan, Bob Wilson, and the Jin brothers haven’t seen the spotlight since the 90s. Is there a genuine possibility for these classic fighters to return?

I wouldn’t dismiss the possibility at all. Effectively, every legacy character is on our “watch list.” We are dedicated to the continued development of this game, and our hope is to eventually reintegrate these fan-favorites as the project matures.

When selecting new roster additions, what are the primary criteria? Is there a specific “blueprint” a character must fit?

We don’t necessarily follow a rigid checklist. However, we do consider tonal consistency. Characters heavily rooted in high-fantasy or sci-fi elements tend to be less likely candidates for this specific series. Those archetypes generally find a more natural home in The King of Fighters; for Fatal Fury, we prefer to maintain a certain thematic groundedness.

Has any character from the inaugural season surprised you in terms of their popularity or their presence in the competitive meta?

Kain R. Heinlein is a standout example. While he served as the final boss in Garou: Mark of the Wolves, he often lived in the shadow of titans like Geese Howard. Seeing his high usage rate and dominance in recent tournaments proves that he has finally carved out his own legacy in the minds of modern players.

Currently, the number of stages is slightly lower than the number of fighters. Are there plans to expand the game’s environments?

Environmental variety is definitely on our radar. We are planning to introduce new stages alongside our future updates, so we encourage players to stay tuned for upcoming announcements.

Have you pivoted your original development plans based on community feedback since launch?

Absolutely. For instance, we’ve prioritized comprehensive overhauls to the Training Mode and the implementation of a more granular, character-specific ranked system. While these features were originally slated for a later date, the sheer volume of player requests prompted us to move them up in our production timeline.

Interview conducted by Maxime Chao on January 6, 2026

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