Producer Erik Feig, whose recent work includes Borderlands, has set up production company Arena SNK Studios. Once known as the producer of hit fighting games and the Neo Geo console, Japanese company SNK has passed through multiple corporate hands following its bankruptcy in the early 2000s. These days, it’s owned by the MiSK Foundation – ... The producer of Borderlands has been given $1bn to set up Arena SNK Studios
Producer Erik Feig, whose recent work includes Borderlands, has set up production company Arena SNK Studios.
Once known as the producer of hit fighting games and the Neo Geo console, Japanese company SNK has passed through multiple corporate hands following its bankruptcy in the early 2000s. These days, it’s owned by the MiSK Foundation – and by extension, Mohammed bin Salman, the unfeasibly wealthy crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
A new venture featuring the SNK branding has now been announced – what The Hollywood Reporter describes as an “indie production banner”, though the $1bn investment being sunk into it stretches the definition of the term ‘indie’ somewhat.
Called Arena SNK Studios, it’s being overseen by Erik Feig, a Hollywood producer whose most recent output includes Borderlands – the 2024 videogame adaptation that wasn’t exactly a hit. The firm will be dedicated to “producing blockbuster films and TV series across live action and animation,” as well as putting on live events of some sort.
The presence of the SNK name in the company name suggests we could be in for a number of videogame adaptations based on its arcade hits – the likes of Fatal Fury, The King Of Fighters or Samurai Shodown. Or, reaching further into the catalogue, Metal Slug or Ikari Warriors.
Nothing has been announced on the creative front as yet, though, with the bulk of the announcement taken up by who’s on the board of directors. Among them you’ll find Sean Bailey, a long-time executive at Disney who produced the box office disappointment Tron: Ares before leaving the company last year. There’s also Epic Games CCO Charlie Wen and, more ominously, Andrew Chen, an investor known for his interest in AI.
Arena SNK Studios is the latest in a long string of investment moves from Saudi Arabia, as the country seeks to move its wealth away from fossil fuels and towards technology and entertainment. In late September, videogame publisher Electronic Arts was purchased by a consortium of investors, among them Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The takeover was worth some $55bn, but because it was a leveraged buyout, EA has been left with a $20bn debt it will now have to pay off.
Such is the weird world of big business.
