SNK Corporation has announced Kenji Matsubara will be stepping down from his role as CEO.

The firm said Matsubara will be moving to an “advisory role” in which he will “continue to lend his expertise and vision.”

Matsubara joined SNK in 2021 after serving as president and chief publishing officer at Sega. He joined the Japanese publisher in 2014 as CTO for Sega Networks Company, becoming president in 2017. He resigned from Sega in 2020 due to “personal reasons”.

Before Sega, Matsubara was president and CEO of Tecmo Koei for nine years and held the same role at the local branch of mobile developer Zynga.

“During his tenure as CEO, Matsubara has been instrumental in driving the company’s growth and innovation,” the firm said.

“He transformed SNK by expanding its development division and strengthening its sales and marketing functions, building it into a global publisher capable of competing worldwide.”

“The board expresses its deepest gratitude to Matusbara for his dedication and leadership during a transformative period in the company’s history.”

It concluded: “SNK remains committed to its strategic vision and is excited about the future as it enters this new phase of leadership.”