When Kenji Matsubara stepped down at Sega almost to the day last year, it came as a little bit of a surprise to many. It was never stated that his resignation was for personal or professional reasons, as Sega had a financially successful year in 2020.

He wouldn't stay away from the business for too long, as the former head of Sega would be appointed as CEO of SNK Corporation July 29th and will assume the role come August 1st. SNK is aiming to capitalize on several years of commercial gain and will seek expansion in the coming years. Their ambition is a significant step upwards from years ago, when the brand's financial woes and flimsy ownership decisions left them on the brink of being no more in the video game industry. 

"We warmly welcome Mr. Matsubara who has a wealth of business expertise and experience in leading the game industry. He brought tangible success to prestigious companies with his extensive experience in game software development, marketing, and sales both in Japan and overseas. We will aim for further growth and an increase in corporate value under his leadership," the company said. With the appointment of Kenji, we promise that SNK is positioning itself for a new phase of growth and development."

Along with Sega, Matsubara also brings his experience as the former CEO of Koei Tecmo ("Koei" before the merger in 2009) for nine years, which he also left for "personal reasons". That's interesting, but not uncommon in this industry.

What does this mean for SNK? It's early to tell, but considering Matsubara's resume, bringing more attention and putting resources to ensure that SNK Corporation's upcoming team-based fighting game, King Of Fighters XV, would be essential. A new trailer for the latest roster addition is long-time KOF veteran Athena Asamiya, who will be joining Mai Shiranui and Yuri Sakazaki, marquee female characters of the SNK brand, to form Team Super Heroines.