SNK's Run-n-Gun Series Metal Slug To Receive A Reboot

• SNK celebrates three decades of the gun-n-gun series

• A reboot of the franchise, along with other projects, seem imminent

While the SNK name in recent years has been more familiar with the world for their King of Fighters tournament fighter series, one of the staples of arcades through the later part of the 90's was Metal Slug, a rousing and expressive 2D side scrolling shooter. As the franchise honors its 30th anniversary, SNK has rolled out a dedicated website dedicated to paying homage to the action shooter, with messages, illustrations from artists who have worked on art for the series, and an archive of each entry developed.

It's a little bare for the time, with more to be added. A trailer was placed on the website, documenting the history of Metal Slug. In an ambiguous manner, sure, but the retrospective highlights the road the series has taken, thanking the fans. The short video ends with a Neo Geo arcade cabinet with the message "Mission Reboot" flashing on the screen.

It does seem very likely that a series of Metal Slug games could be in the works, pushing a new line of titles in the franchise. SNK has always been interested in relaunching one of their more popular games, but years of inconsistent ownership and financial woes had always put those ambitions in doubt. Aside from mobile software, little transpired from the company. 2023 saw the release of Metal Slug Tactics (which had a series of delays). It was a very solid tactics-based role-playing game, but aside from that, there hasn't been a brand new Metal Slug entry since 2008's Metal Slug 7. 2009 saw a release of Metal Slug 8, which was an enhanced version of 8.

Seeing SNK branch out from beyond the reliance of King of Fighters for worldwide recognition, the brand has expressed interest in reviving a handful of its dormant IPs, including Art of Fighting, Magician Lord, Crystalis, and Top Hunter. In 2024, SNK has partnered with development veterans ARIKA (Tetris 99, Endless Ocean, Fighting EX Layer) to collaborate on the reigniting on classic Neo Geo names. We have also seen one of their 90's flagship fighting game series, Fatal Fury, return with City of the Wolves, which has recently enjoyed a crossover with Street Fighter, seeing world Warriors Ken Masters and Chun-Li visit South Town to mix it up with Rock Howard and Preecha.

How do you feel about the return of Metal Slug? It was always a favorite of mine. Dare I say, I found it to be the overall superior run-n-gun series over Contra. Classic genres are seeing a revival in recent years, I would welcome a new Metal Slug series.