As Metal Slug turns 30, SNK confirms a reboot is in the works
The iconic run-and-gun game series Metal Slug is going to be rebooted. SNK confirmed this in a new video released to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary.
The 30th-anniversary retrospective video mostly features footage from classic Metal Slug games. The trailer ends with the messages “Mission Reboot” and “A New Mission Awaits.” The Metal Slug 30th-anniversary website then confirms what’s on the way with the message, “To celebrate 30 years of Metal Slug action, we’re reigniting and rebooting the series with a wide range of exciting projects — including new ventures in gaming.”
SNK did not get into specifics regarding what those “new ventures” are just yet, but it’s great to see this series finally make a full comeback. Over the past decade, SNK has put in a lot of work to revitalize fighting game franchises like The King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, and Fatal Fury. Although Dotemu released the underrated Metal Slug Tactics in 2023, SNK’s last officially numbered mainline game that wasn’t a re-release or mobile game was Metal Slug 7 in 2008. Now, it seems like SNK will finally give this series the modern-feeling reboot treatment.
An official X account for the series was established, and it shared this trailer and new artwork drawn by SNK character designer Naohisa Yamaguchi.
If there’s any hesitation over the excitement surrounding the announcement, it’s that the video features clips that may have been created using generative AI. Supposed live-action clips intercut throughout the trailer, and the arcade cabinet that displays “Mission Reboot” at the end, feature visual inconsistencies. Things like ladder and button placement are placed in ways that don’t make sense. These kinds of visual mistakes are common with generative AI use, and SNK previously faced backlash for using generative AI in a trailer for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. SNK is owned by Misk Foundation, a Saudi Arabian organization with connections to the country’s controversial royal family.