Street Fighter creator Takashi Nishiyama is embarking on an exciting new venture: developing a boxing game in collaboration with The Ring, a renowned boxing magazine. The announcement came via a tweet from Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, who acquired The Ring in November 2024. This untitled game promises to feature original characters and harness the expertise of both The Ring's deep boxing knowledge and Dimps' extensive experience in crafting classic video games.

In his tweet, Alalshikh expressed his enthusiasm about the project: "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 between myself and Nishiyama brings together our unmatched authority in..." The tweet was accompanied by a photo, hinting at the exciting collaboration.

Dimps, Nishiyama's company, recently released Freedom Wars Remastered in January 2025, a reworking of a PlayStation Vita game for modern consoles. Development of the new boxing title is set to begin soon, according to Alalshikh's tweet.

The Saudi Arabian royal family's interest in Japan's gaming industry has been growing. In April 2024, it was revealed that the Saudi Crown Prince's foundation acquired 100% of Japanese game company SNK's shares. The Ring Magazine has also played a role in promoting SNK's upcoming game, Fatal Fury: City of Wolves, by hosting a boxing match collaboration at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on April 26, 2025. Nishiyama, who previously worked at SNK in the 1990s, is well-known for creating the Fatal Fury series and producing many games in SNK's flagship series like Metal Slug and King of Fighters.

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Japanese fans have reacted with a mix of surprise and curiosity to the announcement of The Ring x Dimps collaboration. Responses range from eager anticipation with comments like "What?!! I want to play it!" to curiosity about the final product. @ryo_redcyclone, an X user known for posting Street Fighter-related content, commented on the news, referencing Nishiyama's past work: "Commenting on the first Street Fighter, Nishiyama said: 'I chose to focus on street fighting because established sports are restricted by rules.' This time he is making a game based on boxing, a sport with rules, so I’m curious to see how it will turn out."

Concerns have been raised about whether boxing's rules might limit Nishiyama's creativity, given the quirky characters and unconventional moves in his previous fighting games. For example, Street Fighter's Mike Tyson-inspired character, Balrog, uses moves like kicks and the Buffalo Head, which clearly violate professional boxing rules. It will be fascinating to see whether The Ring and Dimps' new boxing game opts for a realistic approach or breaks the rules as Nishiyama's previous games have done.