The team behind FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves opened up about their plans for Season 2 in an exclusive conversation with Director Hayato Konya and Producer Shinya Tamaki. While both were present for the discussion, Konya took the lead in sharing detailed insights about the newly announced characters and the development team’s approach to bringing classic fighters back to South Town’s streets.

SNK has revealed that Season 2 will roll out six new characters monthly, beginning with Kim Jae Hoon on January 22. The roster continues with Nightmare Geese in February, Blue Mary in March, and Wolfgang Krauser in April, while two characters remain under wraps for May and June.

Listening to the Community and Changes

The decision to kick off Season 2 with Kim Jae Hoon came directly from player feedback. The character, who hasn’t been playable in years, represents a clear message about SNK’s priorities moving forward.

“We’ve been keeping an eye on popular topics ever since Season 1. Among them, we noticed that everyone really wants MotW characters, so we selected him,” Konya explained.

“We thought it would be best to start Season 2 with a MotW character, which is why he’s the first one up.”

Season 2 brings rosterwide balance adjustments, but Konya emphasized that the team’s goals extend beyond simple number changes. The focus centers on how each character feels to play rather than just making them stronger or weaker.

“Making a character stronger or weaker is simple, but I think what’s required for S2 is more complex,” he noted.

“In that sense, we focused on what kind of gameplay experience each character can provide in S2.”

Balancing Legacy and Gameplay

Wolfgang Krauser, the legendary final boss from Fatal Fury 2, presented unique challenges for the development team. Bringing such an iconic villain into the current roster required careful consideration of both his history and his place among the modern cast.

“I can’t say too much, but he himself is still connected to Fatal Fury’s characters. There’s Terry, who defeated him, and Rock, Geese’s son,” Konya shared.

“Keeping those connections in mind, we considered who he would clash with in South Town and balanced his position among the current cast of characters.”

Updating characters who haven’t appeared in recent games meant walking a fine line between nostalgia and contemporary design. The team developed a keyword-based system to guide their visual updates while maintaining what fans love about these fighters.

“We create concept art by lining up various keywords. For example, with Hokutomaru, keywords might be ‘scarf,’ ‘ninja,’ or ‘Shiranui.’ We create concept art based on these, then develop the character,” Konya said.

When asked about the most difficult characters to implement, Konya pointed to two fighters who carry heavy expectations from their appearances in other franchises.

“In terms of design, it was Geese and Mary. Those two also appear in KOF 14 and KOF 15, so their image as KOF characters is strong,” he revealed.

“Therefore, we had to consider their movesets carefully to bring them to life as Fatal Fury: CotW characters. It was challenging to make them work in CotW without breaking the image held of them as characters.”

With four characters confirmed and two still waiting in the wings, Season 2 promises to keep Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves players engaged throughout the first half of 2026.