SNK Pulls Multiple Games From Mobile
SNK is a Japanese studio/publisher best known for its range of beat ‘em ups, including the King of Fighters series. This month (July 2025) it has started delisting classic arcade games from Google Play.
Nine games are affected, including two King of Fighters games and three Metal Slug titles. Another Metal Slug game, Metal Slug 3, disappeared from Google Play in early June. Affected titles are still available on other platforms, but this may well change soon.
“The above titles will be unavailable for download from Google Play after discontinuation,” SNK said in a press release. “Customers who have already purchased and installed the titles can continue using them, but will not be able to reinstall them (or download them on another device).”
Kiss Goodbye to The Classics
SNK titles going the way of the dodo on Google Play are: Blazing Star, Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Fatal Fury Special, Garou: Mark Of The Wolves, The King Of Fighters ’97, The King Of Fighters ’98, and Samurai Shodown II.
Although mobile versions are still available on iOS, SNK has suggested this may not last either: “Titles will continue to be available on the Apple App Store. Further announcements regarding this platform will be shared at a later date.”
As is sometimes the case with delisted games, they can appear on other platforms, but this is often as part of a bundle or collection – for example, modern retro company Evercade stock a range of cartridges with older games on, including SNK titles. Players hoping to find and buy a specific title aren’t guaranteed to find it, or if they can, it likely won’t be on a platform they use.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Reasons for delisting vary, from subscription services being cancelled by a parent company (as happened with Sega Forever) to game studios simply ending support, sometimes within weeks of launch. This happened with Firewalk Studios’ hotly-anticipated Concord, which was released on Aug. 23 2024 and was shut down and delisted on Sept. 4.
Concord was arguably a victim of its own hype and as such did not live up to player expectations (initial player counts were well under 1,000). Other games have been delisted due to controversy, such as The Day Before, whereas others were bought by big companies and then shuttered. Such was the fate of promising card-battler Duelyst, which was bought by Bandai Namco and then delisted soon after.
This game, at least, lives on in some form as the community has built a roguelike version of it, that’s free to play. But, there’s never any guarantee that this kind of thing will happen. Games preservation, and ensuring companies offer proper end of life support for video games, are two hot topics, with the Stop Killing Games initiative an example of the latter and GOG’s Preservation Program an example of the former.
