SNK raises eyebrows with Gen AI animations in latest Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

KUALA LUMPUR: SNK has announced upcoming content for its 2D fighting game Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Season 2 will add new characters per month, starting with taekwondo fighter Kim Jae Hoon on Jan 22, followed by Nightmare Geese in February, Blue Mary in March, and Wolfgang Krauser in April.

These are all fan-favourite additions, with a possibility of guest stars like Fist of the North Star’s main character Kenshiro added to the future lineup.

However, the trailer for this sterling announcement was mostly comprised of generative AI-styled graphics and animations. The official SNK YouTube video of this announcement currently has 9,000 likes and 14,000 dislikes, with comments complaining about the use of allegedly plagiarism-fuelled AI generation in the trailer.

This is a perplexing decision on SNK’s side, considering that the company is in a great financial state with support from Saudi Arabia, and the fact its flagship fighting games (Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters XV) are represented internationally in tournaments like the Esports World Cup series.

The company can surely afford to hire talented artists and animators to create their hype trailer; why resort to generative AI, unless it was a test to see what they can get away with? Either way, this is quite a stain on SNK’s reputation, but one they can hopefully get out of in future promo work for Fatal Fury.

What is really worrying is that this may be a trend moving forward. What if companies like EA, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo end up sneaking generative AI into their ad campaigns and promo videos?

We can tear it apart as these works are soulless and can be spotted a mile away, but if it becomes the norm and in droves, we may end up just tolerating it instead.

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2026) already has companies like Razer and NVidia on the bandwagon and still pushing it onto their new tech and products.

God bless Dell for not using it as a selling point for their products, but that’s just one company out of many. AI in tech, at least the generative and buzzword kind, is here to stay, but it’s up to us to vote with our wallets and viewership if we refuse it or not.

Short Beats

Indonesian game makers Mojiken Studios and Toge Productions have announced a new adventure game called Work Work Work. It’s a new point-and-click puzzle title with ARG elements set in a dystopian workplace.

Visual novel sequel Coffee Talk Tokyo will be delayed to May 21.

Capcom is collaborating with watchmaker company Hamilton and luxury car brand Porsche to create new Resident Evil Requiem merchandise.

Bethesda and Prime Video have announced a reality TV show called Fallout Shelter, based on the Fallout video game and the two-season TV series.

Online role-playing game New World: Aeternum will officially be taken offline from all platforms on Jan 31, 2027.

We celebrate the best of 2025 with our top game soundtracks compilation video.

Games Out This Week

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond The Horizon is the latest Falcom Japanese role-playing game and the next follow-up to the Trails Through Daybreak storyline.

Engage in turn-based combat against enemies and unravel the latest conspiracy in the Calvard storyline. Out for PC and consoles.

Big Hops is an indie 3D platformer where you play as a frog who can tongue-swing and free climb his way through many aerial and jumping puzzle challenges. Out for PC and consoles.

Quarantine Zone: The Last Check is a new simulation where you command a checkpoint in a collapsing city in the midst of a zombie outbreak.

Screen survivors and hold back the undead, because if you let a few plague-ridden people in the city, the game may be over before you know it. Out for PC.

Cassette Boy is a grayscale-coloured indie puzzle action RPG. Rotate a 2D pixel-styled 3D world using disappearing obstacles and newly-appearing paths to uncover the mystery of the vanished moon. Out for PC and consoles.

Recommended Viewing

Ex-BioWare producer Mark Darrah talks about the development and behind-the-scenes of EA and BioWare’s failed game Anthem in great detail. He talks about what went wrong and lessons to learn when making a game of this scale, especially with a team that had never made a live service game before.