Legendary game designer Takashi Nishiyama, creator of Street Fighter, is teaming up with renowned boxing publication The Ring to develop an all-new boxing title. The announcement came via Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, who acquired The Ring in November 2024.

The upcoming untitled game will feature original characters and combine "The Ring's boxing expertise with Dimps Corporation's decades of game development experience." Nishiyama founded Dimps, which recently released Freedom Wars Remastered in January 2025.

Together with legendary Japanese video game designer Takashi Nishiyama, I am proud to announce a forthcoming boxing game presented by The Ring featuring original characters.

This strategic partnership brings together our boxing authority with Dimps' game development expertise... pic.twitter.com/LRWyyZzkpz

— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) May 5, 2025

The collaboration continues Saudi Arabia's growing involvement in Japan's gaming industry. In April 2024, SNK became fully owned by the Saudi Crown Prince's foundation. The Ring has also partnered with SNK, promoting Fatal Fury: City of Wolves through a special boxing match event in London last month.

Gallery: The 10 Best Fighting Games

View 11 Images

Japanese gaming community reactions to the announcement range from excited "Can't wait to play!" comments to curiosity about Nishiyama's adaptation to boxing's structured rules. Gaming commentator @ryo_redcyclone noted: "Nishiyama originally chose street fighting because sports have restrictive rules - it'll be fascinating to see his take on boxing."

Fans are particularly interested to see whether the game will adopt realistic boxing mechanics or incorporate the unconventional moves characteristic of Nishiyama's fighting games. While Street Fighter features boxer Balrog, his moveset includes illegal techniques like kicks and headbutts that would never fly in professional boxing.