| The King of Fighters XIV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | SNK Taito (Arcade) |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Director(s) | Yasuyuki Oda |
| Artist(s) | Eisuke Ogura |
| Series | The King of Fighters |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | PlayStation 4Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Taito Type X3 (NESiCAxLive2) |
The King of Fighters XIV[a] (KOF XIV) is a 2016 Japanese fighting game. Part of SNK's franchise The King of Fighters (KOF) series, with this installment being published by Atlus USA in North America and Deep Silver in Europe. After the 13th installment that used 2D raster imagery, this game is rendered entirely in 3D similar to the spin-off Maximum Impact, although gameplay is restricted to a 2D plane. The game was released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 in August 2016 and ported to Windows and Japanese arcade cabinets in June 2017.
The development of The King of Fighters XIV began in April 2014, after SNK's CEO Eikichi Kawasaki who reoriented the company toward traditional video games after several years of focus on Pachinko-style slot machines and mobile apps. Yasuyuki Oda, who previously worked on Capcom's Street Fighter IV and other titles by SNK, directed the game. It retains the series' system of teams composed of three fighters while introducing "Rush Combo", an automatic combo system designed to make the series more accessible for new players. The game received post-release downloadable content support through new characters, alternative outfits and patches to improve the game's visuals. Kyōtarō Azuma wrote a spin-off manga series, The King of Fighters: A New Beginning, published from 2018 to 2020.
The King of Fighters XIV received generally favorable reviews. Critics praised the game's fighting system as enjoyable for both new players and fighting game experts, but criticized its graphics as inferior to other fighting games released for the eighth generation of video game consoles. SNK confirmed a sequel, The King of Fighters XV, at EVO 2019, which was released in 2022.
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