SNK Is Building a Brand-New Console For 2021

The latest generation of console hardware might be out now, but another company is looking to get in the game next year. SNK announced today that a brand-new console is coming from the company in 2021.

In the announcement image (via Twitter), you can see logos for both SNK and Neo Geo. Users are also speculating what the wi-fi symbol over the “W” in the image might mean, and whether this indicates an online or multiplayer-focused console of some sorts.

A new console doesn’t necessarily mean SNK is going to try to take on Sony and Microsoft. Retro-focused consoles have been popular for many older gaming companies, SNK included. But last year, SNK teased that “Next-Gen NEOGEO hardware” was on its way. “With a modern design and a wonderful play feeling and you can even link it to NEOGEO Mini, the new hardware will provide you a NEOGEO journey that you have never experienced,” reads SNK’s tweet from August 2019.

SNK has been fairly busy working with Code Mystics to add modern rollback netcode to older games like Garou: Mark of the Wolves and The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match. Some sort of console that takes advantage of that, maybe even replicates the feeling of sitting down at an arcade cabinet and challenging all competitors, would be pretty rad, especially due to the troubles arcades are facing right now.

We’ll see what the Wi-Fi waves above the “W” have to hold in the new year. Either way, SNK is still working away at the next King of Fighters, which we can expect to see more of on Jan. 7, 2021.