Harada wishes hardware like Xbox Series S would not be released

Katsuhiro Harada, CEO of VS Studio and former Tekken director, told the Console Game Developers Conference 2026 panel in South Korea on Nov. 11, 2026, that he wished hardware like the Xbox Series S would not be released while a senior Xbox official attended.

Shuhei Yoshida moderated the five-developer panel in Seoul, which included DongKi Lee, Kazutaka Kodaka, Pawel Sasko, Tynan Sylvester and Harada. Asked about the advantages and disadvantages of developing for console versus PC, Harada first said consoles suit esports tournaments for fighting games like Tekken before turning to the Xbox Series S.

Harada said the Xbox Series S has low memory and is similar to Series X but with awkwardly lower performance, making development feel like extra work for a weaker child. He contrasted that with Switch 2, where developers can treat the console as a distinct device for Nintendo fans, while with Xbox they must deliver their best output and then do extra work for a weaker machine.

In the U.S., there are more Series S users than Series X users, so developers cannot cut corners, Harada said, and Series S users complain to developers rather than Microsoft about lower texture resolution. He added that he worried Microsoft would feel reassured by a polite defense and release a successor like Helix S for the next generation.

Harada put the remark directly to the room: “Since a senior Xbox official is actually in attendance here today, I wish hardware like the Xbox Series S wouldn’t be released.” He later asked CD Projekt Red associate game director Pawel Sasko whether he was upset inside because of the Series S.

Sasko responded that the Series S constantly throws challenges and forces developers to optimize code very cleanly, and that optimizing for weaker hardware makes games run significantly better across all platforms. He cited Cyberpunk 2077 Version 2.5, saying optimization breakthroughs gained while preparing the Switch 2 launch title were applied to all other platforms with great effect by a team of 80 to 100 people working for over a year.

Sasko also said the Series S’s affordable price expands market penetration and lets games reach a wider audience, and he noted that players do not fully understand the technical context behind fewer characters on screen or downgraded visuals. He said intense optimization for lower-spec platforms helps games run better on PS5, high-end PCs and handhelds like Steam Deck and ROG Ally.

Sasko burst out laughing before responding to Harada, and he appeared to tiptoe around the subject when answering. Harada said the Microsoft representative in the audience kept nodding along as Sasko defended the console, and Harada sarcastically praised the defense while expressing concern Microsoft would take encouragement from it.

Xbox mandates that games launch on both Series X and Series S or none at all, with main feature parity between versions, a requirement questioned since the Series S released in 2020. Kotaku identified Baldur’s Gate 3’s months-late Xbox arrival and the need for Microsoft’s engineers to fix split-screen co-op working on Series S as the first major sign something was amiss with making games compatible with the weaker console.

Other developers have reported similar friction. The developer of Wardogs admitted Series S limitations stopped it from adding certain things, Funcom chief product officer Scott Junior said it was a challenge to get Dune Awakening on Xbox Series S though it eventually released, and Moon Studio head Thomas Mahler blamed the Series S for No Rest for the Wicked’s delayed Xbox release. Developers expected Stellar Blade for Xbox, but it has not arrived, and it is unknown whether that relates to Series S porting issues.

Kotaku reported that as of 2022 the Series S made up nearly 75 percent of Series console sales and led the Series X for several years, but by 2024 the Series X outsold it in the U.S. The outlet also said the current Xbox Series S price is $200 more than it originally retailed for, which may relate to the constant decline of Xbox console sales, and Xbox blames supply constraints.

Shift Up CTO DongKi Lee said he looks forward to the next-gen Xbox Helix and will develop for it if Microsoft provides a dev kit in Korea as early as possible. IGN reported that earlier suggestions targeted a holiday 2027 launch for Helix, while recent estimates point to 2028 at $1,200 to $1,800, and it is unclear whether Xbox will release a lower-powered Helix console.

IGN said it is rare to hear someone of Harada’s prominence discussing the Series S’s drawbacks out loud, even though his comments may not shock developers working across the Xbox Series family. Harada now leads VS Studio, which he founded with SNK’s support after leaving Bandai Namco in December 2025 following more than three decades. VSStudioSNK was established on May 1 as a consolidated subsidiary of SNK, with Harada as representative director and CEO, and other Bandai Namco Tekken veterans joined the studio. SNK is famous for its King of Fighters and Samurai Showdown franchises.

The announcement said VS Studio and SNK will team up on game software to build up their combined creative strength. Harada stated the studio’s philosophy is to combine technology, sensibility, and world-class expertise to pursue the ultimate, and he said the VS name encompasses Versus challenging tradition, Visionary Standard, Volition Shift and Vanguard Spirit. Nothing is in the works yet at VS Studio, but a project will probably be announced soon.

Harada celebrated his departure from Namco with a one-hour-long Tekken-inspired techno music mix, and Yasuyuki Oda, an SNK developer, said working with Harada, a long-time friend and worthy rival, is a dream come true.